IF WE were to stick to the headline Selena Gomez news, the female celebrity would simply be remembered as one of her generation’s most popular female stars of television, music and fashion. To measure her worth in terms of her social media profile alone makes Gomez a formidable figure, with a Facebook following of 60m; as well as 45.6m on Twitter and 98.2m on Instagram. Having appeared in the children’s television series Barney & Friends, Gomez rose to widespread fame with a leading role in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place, leading to work on various films, TV shows, and musical collaborations for the network in the following years. But this headline Selena Gomez news is only part of the story. Although famously, she became a UNICEF ambassador at the age of 17, Gomez has been heavily involved in a range of charitable organisations for many years. Some of her most notable philanthropies include the following.

UNICEF

.@UNICEF Ambass. @selenagomez takes a #selfie w/kids in a @unicef_nepal supported early childhood dev. class #purejoy pic.twitter.com/VR1zcS1J8x

— UNICEF USA (@unicefusa) May 29, 2014

IN AUGUST 2009, a 17-year-old Gomez became the youngest UNICEF ambassador ever, traveling to Ghana in 2009 to witness first-hand the conditions of vulnerable children that lacked vital necessities. Gomez explained, during an interview with Associated Press correspondents, that she wanted to use her presence to bring awareness to Ghana. Gomez was named spokesperson for UNICEF’s 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign, for the second year in a row, after raising over $700,000 for the charity in 2008. In March 2011, Gomez participated in the UNICEF Tap Project‘s ‘Celebrity Tap Pack’ limited-edition, custom-made water bottles which featured tap water from the homes of each celebrity advocate, in order to raise funds and increase profile for the clean water and sanitation programs.

Disability Awareness

Finally got to meet this sweetheart -she owned it fully

A video posted by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jun 22, 2016 at 7:57pm PDT

GOMEZ has also helped with a handful of charities dedicated to disability and disease awareness. During 2014, she was nominated by Taylor Swift to undertake the Ice Bucket Challenge in aid of The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association, and gamely posted her challenge video to Instagram. She has also been involved in Elton John’s AIDS Foundation, and even made a real-life meet and greet come true for one lucky fan just before her Louisville concert in June 2016, posting a video to her Instagram that showed her dancing with seven-year-old Audrey Nethery, who suffers from the life-threatening bone marrow condition DBA.

Other Charitable Organisations & Causes

SELENA Gomez has also been heavily involved with a variety of other charities, including acting as an ambassador for DoSomething.org, helping homeless dog charity Island Dog, and working with RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. In 2009 to 2012, she was also involved with Disney’s Friends for Change, appearing in its public service announcements to help raise awareness about its efforts to promote environmentally-friendly behaviour. Proving that most of the Selena Gomez news that most people are aware of is only the tip of the iceberg, the young entertainer is also involved with a variety of children’s charities, including Teen Cancer America, Alliance For Children’s Rights and Free The Children.

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