How Stars Are Giving Back This Holiday Season 2020

'Tis the season to be generous

By Kate Hogan
Updated December 25, 2020 12:20 PM

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Travis Scott

Credit: Crayton Gerst

On Dec. 22, Scott and his Cactus Jack Foundation teamed up with the city of Houston and Mayor Sylvester Turner to host a 2020 Holiday Toy Drive in the Sunnyside Park neighborhood where he was raised.

Along with presents for the children, the event also provided each attending family with free meals, produce, Christmas trees, comforters, shoes and personal protective gear to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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Tameka 'Tiny' Harris

Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

On Dec. 20, Atlanta families were welcomed inside of “Tiny's Wonderland” for an evening of Christmas joy, fellowship and presents for the whole family. The fourth annual Tiny’s Wonderland hosted by Heiress Harris, featured musical performances, games, raffles and food. Tiny & Heiress Harris gave away televisions, bicycles toys and more to more than 24 families in need. 

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21 Savage

Credit: Prince Williams

Through Leading by Example, the rapper (not pictured) partnered with YMCA to fulfill kids' Christmas wishes — and give their families holiday meals — at the Wade Walker Park Family YMCA in Georgia. LBE and 21 Savage also partnered with Black-owned holiday apparel and decoration brand Black Santa to create 21 Savage X Black Santa holiday sweatshirts to give away at the event and sell at blacksanta.com, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the LBE Foundation. 

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Katy Perry

Credit: Courtesy Amazon

Perry partnered with Amazon and Amazon Music to surprise kids at Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Houston, St. Louis and Chico, California (pictured). The songstress picked out art supplies for all of the kids, along with holiday gifts and some extra items for each Club she virtually visited. 

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Dan + Shay

Credit: Safe Haven

The Grammy-winning country duo, comprised of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, teamed up with Safe Haven Family Shelter, a shelter-to-housing program in Nashville, to surprise three families experiencing homelessness with starter homes.

The pair also worked in collaboration with Ashley HomeStore to ensure that the homes were fully furnished — down to the holiday decorations! — and were waiting inside to say congratulations and share some festive cheer when the families arrived.

"It was very emotional watching these families’ reactions when they saw their homes for the first time," Smyers told PEOPLE. "I speak for both of us when I say it was life-changing — it put everything into perspective, and made us truly appreciate all the blessings in our life that we can sometimes take for granted."

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Prince Michael Jackson

Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Through his Heal L.A. Foundation, the son of Michael Jackson treated 25 Los Angeles-area kids to $150 shopping sprees at Mattel on Dec. 21. One month earlier, the 23-year-old had spent time around Thanksgiving giving out meals to those in need. 

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Malin Akerman

Credit: Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

Akerman and her 7-year-old son, Sebastian, masked up in Henry Masks on Dec. 21 to volunteer with Feeding America and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, distributing food to community members at an outdoor, walk-up distribution site. 

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Meghan Trainor

Credit: Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty

The singer partnered with P&G's Safeguard to surprise five deserving teachers with $1,000 gift cards to go toward products for their classrooms, plus Safeguard hand soap and sanitizer. "I love talking to teachers all over the country and hearing their stories," Trainor said while presenting one educator with her gift.

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The Curry Family

Credit: Noah Graham/Getty Images

Steph, Ayesha and their three children hosted their Eat. Learn. Play. foundation's 8th annual Christmas with the Currys event in Oakland on Dec. 19, helping 1,000 needy children get food, holiday gifts and other resources (with a visit from Santa & Mrs. Claus!) in a drive-through format. 

Additionally, the family is donating thousands of books to children and adults at Oakland-area schools. 

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James Van Der Beek

Credit: HEB

The actor, who recently moved to Texas with his family, partnered with the grocery store HEB and the Pop-Up Birthday organization to surprise one deserving family with Christmas decorations, gifts, and groceries.

"Giving back is a Texas tradition. It's part of our tradition, too, and it's something I really want to teach my kids," the father of five explained in a video of the surprise. Two of his children — Joshua, 8, and Anabel, 6 — accompanied him to the store to help select toys and food to gift.

With the family in mind — a single mother named Anna who recently moved to Texas to start over with her toddler son, Dan — Van Der Beek and his little ones wandered through the aisles of HEB and gathered an array of items. 

"To be in the position to be able to pull up to somebody's house with a pickup truck full of stuff and make them happy is the biggest gift," Van Der Beek said.

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Jennifer Garner & Jessica Alba

Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty

When celeb-favorite organization Baby2Baby wasn't able to do its traditional holiday toy giveaway due to the coronavirus pandemic, moms like Garner and Alba jumped in to help with a drive-through event instead. The pair were among the famous faces handing out holiday gifts to families in need in Los Angeles on Dec. 13.

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Nick Cannon

Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

The actor joined HollyGold and restaurant Yamashiro Hollywood to donate 2,000 meals to the community in L.A. on Dec. 15.

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Kate Hudson

Hudson and her family partnered with Instacart to promote the #GiveFromTheCart donation campaign, with the actress and the company each donating 500,000 meals to Feeding America. Hudson also announced on Instagram that she's supporting the World Food Program's #CrossTheDistance fundraiser, donating funds to those facing food insecurity this season.

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Amy Schumer, Matthew McConaughey and More

The Profit's Marcus Lemonis enlisted famous friends like Schumer and McConaughey — plus Alex Rodriguez, Kristen Bell and Pharrell Williams — to help with the Plating Change Program, ordering thousands of dollars worth of meals from local restaurants to then deliver to charitable organizations. 

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Rachel Brosnahan

Credit: Michael Simon/Startraksphoto.com

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel herself joined Amazon on Dec. 14 to deliver donations to Covenant House New York.

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Russell Dickerson

Credit: Courtesy of Russell Dickerson; Inset: Matt Winkelmeyer/ACMA2019/Getty

Earlier this year, the country singer took interest in the story of Utah teen Sarah Frei, who was hit by a drunk driver and left paralyzed from the waist down, becoming a double amputee. Knowing she is a fan, Dickerson worked with Chevrolet to surprise Frei with a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse outfitted for her specific needs by BraunAbilty. The vehicle, which he presented to her via FaceTime the week before Christmas, features a fully powered and lighted ramp and maximized cabin space for her wheelchair. Watch video of their emotional exchange here.

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By Kate Hogan