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Scarlett Johansson

by Allie from Boca Raton

"It is important to remind young people that peace is the only victory."
Scarlett Johansson (http://willyoubemyhero.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/scarlett_johansson.jpg)
Scarlett Johansson (http://willyoubemyhero.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/scarlett_johansson.jpg)

“Having visited Oxfam-funded school programs in rural communities has made me realize how vital education is to developing countries in bringing people out of poverty and giving them a sense of dignity, self-worth, and confidence.” Scarlett Johansson stated this after her visit with Oxfam to India and Sri Lanka. She visits rural communities to help people out of poverty. Scarlett Johansson has dedicated her life and received honors for helping the hungry and the poor.

Scarlett Johansson (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/showbiz/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20091028/0023ae606f170c51dc6c08.jpg)
Scarlett Johansson (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/showbiz/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20091028/0023ae606f170c51dc6c08.jpg)

Everything Scarlett does to give back comes from her being hungry as a child. On November 22, 1984 Scarlett Johansson was born 3 minutes before her twin brother, Hunter. They where born in New York City. She also has an older sister, Vanessa, an older brother, Adrian, and a half brother. Growing up her family was poor. For many years, her family received government-subsidized lunches because they couldn’t afford regular lunches. Because Johansson is only 24 now and has been acting for a long time, she didn’t go to college; she did graduate high school. Johansson has come a long way from when she was growing up because she is now a Golden Globe nominated actress and she was named the “Most Beautiful Woman Alive.” She is also very community service oriented.

Scarlett Johansson (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/showbiz/images/attachement/jpg/site1/)
Scarlett Johansson (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/showbiz/images/attachement/jpg/site1/)

In 2005, Johansson helped launch a program called Blessings in a Backpack. This is a program that feeds more than 24,000 children in over 100 US schools. Volunteers buy and provide the food for the program, and then they deliver the backpacks every Friday to the schools with the subsidizing lunch programs. Because of her dedication to feeding hungry children, through Blessings in a Backpack, she received the 2009 WebMD Health Hero Award. She launched a website called, Scarlett Gives Back, so people can donate their time, money and food to Blessings in a Backpack. Johansson also reaches out to hungry people in other nations.

Johansson is also an Ambassador for Oxfam, an international group of 13 organizations dedicated to fighting poverty. In February 2007 she went on an Oxfam organized trip instead of going to the Oscars. The trip was to India and Sri Lanka. Scarlett spent 10 days there. In India she met with women and young girls in poverty to understand how poverty affects their life. In Sri Lanka she met with recent Tsunami survivors. They told her about the devastations. Just by joining Oxfam, Scarlett is joining millions of other people who are fighting against poverty.

Scarlett Johansson ( http://www.nelsonguirado.com/media/blogs/choiceplease/scarlett-johansson-hot-400a072307.jpg)
Scarlett Johansson ( http://www.nelsonguirado.com/media/blogs/choiceplease/scarlett-johansson-hot-400a072307.jpg)

In addition to being a part of Blessings in a Backpack and Oxfam, Johansson participates in other community services. After Hurricane Katrina, she visited New Orleans. While she was there she set up food banks for people affected by the hurricane. In September 2009, Johansson auctioned off red carpet tickets for Iron Man 2. All of the proceeds were donated to Oxfam. Earlier this month she had another auction. This time she auctioned tickets to her play. Instead of the proceeds going to Oxfam they went to Haiti. Johansson takes advantage of all opportunities to give back, when she can.

Scarlett Johansson’s work with Blessings in a Backpack and Oxfam is monumental. For someone as young as 25 years old to be so involved, takes great dedications. Many people have been fed because of Scarlett’s dedication to helping.

Page created on 10/11/2010 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 10/11/2010 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

WebMD - Scarlett Helps the Hungry

Extra Info

Books about Scarlett Johansson:

Scarlett Johansson: The Illustrated Biography by Chris Roberts
Scarlett Johansson by Brandon Hurst

More Bibliographies:

"Scarlett Johansson." Better World Heroes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2010. .
"Scarlett Johansson Biography." Notable Biographies.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. .