Drew Barrymore Gives Big

Drew says she has been passionate about philanthropy for years, but when she turned 30, she realized she wanted to do something that spoke to her heart. "I didn't want to just do it for the sake of doing," she says.

Soon after her birthday, Drew read something in The New York Times that inspired her to take action. The article discussed African school feeding programs funded by the World Food Program (WFP), the world's frontline organization in the fight against hunger. Every year, this United Nations agency helps feed more than 70 million people in nearly 80 of the world's poorest countries.

After learning more about the WFP, Drew says she called the United Nations and volunteered to go on a mission. In 2005, she made her first humanitarian trip to Nairobi, Kenya, where she toured impoverished slums and met starving children. Drew joined the fight against hunger, and in 2007, she returned to Kenya to see the school feeding programs in action. 

See photos of Drew's humanitarian mission.

"It was a life-altering journey that humbled me to the core," she says. "We fed thousands of children who wanted just two simple things—one meal a day and the chance to learn. ... I witnessed how just a little bit can make all the difference."