I was on facebook the other day and saw that Seth Rogen was trending, so naturally curiosity got the best and I clicked to see what he was up to. I figured it was either a late night talk show appearance or an announcement about one of his several highly anticipated upcoming projects, but what I found surprised me.  Rather than a clip of Seth making a weed joke or doing something strange with James Franco, he was sitting before a committee on CSPAN pleading for the government to allocate more funds for Alzheimer’s Research in what amounted to be a funny, yet incredibly heartfelt speech that was more genuine than any I’ve heard in a long time. Its no secret that in the public eye Seth is seen as the champion of idiotic humor, (which I guiltily must say I’m a fan of), and therefore, unfortunately, is sometimes scoffed at as nothing more than a juvenile comedian, but when Rogen addressed the committee during this hearing we saw a different side of him that isn’t typically displayed on screen: a human side. You could hear the passion in his voice when he discussed how this debilitating disease had slowly robbed his Mother-in-Law of the ability to walk, talk, and reognize her loved ones, and she him getting broken up discussing how difficult dealing with the disease had been on his family. I expected to get a laugh or two out of the video but by the end of it I was moved by Rogen ability to channel his frustrations with the lack of funding into a moving speech, which started to make me think about the influence artists have in philanthropy. Many of us look to entertainment as an escape, a chance in which we can leave behind our problems temporarily and enjoy the misadventures and dramas of others, but what would happen if we were to find a balance between entertaining and inspiring others to take action philanthropically? What could we achieve if each one of us lazy college students  decided to dedicate more time towards changing the world in some small way through art? I pondered this for a little while until a trailer popped up in my newsfeed for a film called “Friends of Mine” (trailer below). The question I posed to the universe had been answered in a manner of minutes in the form of a Indie documentary Film trailer about college graduate Matthew Palmer’s journey to find happiness through working at a special needs summer camp. The trailer is as heartwarming and motivating as Rogen’s testimony and shows the personal growth that one undergoes through helping others and the impact that philanthropy can have on other people’s lives.

If a self proclaimed man child like Rogen and a college graduate lost in the world can make such philanthropic waves through film and media then what is stopping us from doing the same? The answer is nothing, so next time you see a cause that you truly care about think of how a man largely known for his pot smoking idiocy (Seth) is doing more to change the world than you are and go out there and do something about it. You’ll be glad you did. And if you want to check out Palmer’s moving documentary “Friends of Mine” check it out the film’s website for more information.