Melissa Joan Hart Celebrates Christmas By Helping Those in Need
By Movieguide® Contributor
In a recent clip on Great American Community, GOD’S NOT DEAD actress Melissa Joan Hart shared what warms her heart at Christmas: helping those in need.
A World Vision ambassador, Hart feels passionate about working with international, low-income communities for the glory of God.
“I started working with World Vision, I think it was back in 2019. I wanted to sponsor some children in Zambia,” the actress said. “We were gonna go over there and work with the team and see the programs and learn the programs. We went back this summer, and we brought all three of our boys and they got to meet their sponsor sisters and they got to see the difference in what sponsoring a child with World Vision looks like.”
World Vision improves the economic situation of Zambians by supporting them with education and tools to build their own wealth.
“My 11-year-old was so taken by how dirty the water is, when you go get water from a watering hole versus a well, you know, for them to see that, to see the simple joys, the basic necessities that we take for granted,” she continued. “And so, the work that World Vision is doing is so important.
Movieguide® previously reported on Hart’s recent trip to Zambia:
“This is our second trip to Zambia and we’ve just seen such a difference between four years ago and now, with the families that have been helped, with the sponsors that have come in and stepped up for some of these children,” Hart said. “To see that they’re now going to school, that they now have clean clothes, that they now have a house and a bed and clean water really close by so they can go get water when they want to cook or clean, it’s just amazing.”
“The family, their whole demeanor has changed,” she added. “They just are so proud now of what they’ve accomplished, of what they’ve been able to accomplish.”
This time of year, World Vision offers gift catalogs where people can choose to donate money toward things like cows, chickens, goats, bicycles and buildings for people in need. Items such as bracelets can be purchased, and the money supports local artisans and World Vision.
“Not only do we gift them goats, and that’s one of the biggest signs in the area—if you have goats, you are considered wealthy,” Hart said. “You can now breed them. You can now…have milk and cheese. You can trade stuff, and you have food security. And World Vision teaches people in the area to basically be farmers or veterinarians. I am so happy to be able to be an ambassador for them. And to have my children be ambassadors for World Vision. To be able to say there is so much complexity here, but it is so sustainable.”
Hart also shared a few of her Christmas favorites: real pine trees, Christmas morning, her grandma’s French silk pie and holiday movies. The actress starred in a few holiday movies of her own, including A VERY NUTTY CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS RESERVATIONS and HOLIDAY HANDCUFFS
She recently took part in Christmas Con New Jersey, where she and other actors known for their Christmas roles met fans and celebrated the holiday.
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