Actor Kevin Bacon is kicking off his golden years by making a difference, donating 40,000 essential kits to the homeless and children facing adversity.
Through his nonprofit organization, sixdegrees.org, Bacon collects vital items like food, water, toothbrushes, shampoo, and clothing, which are then assembled into backpacks and distributed to those in need, including the homeless and disadvantaged children.
“Essentially what happens, in a community, you have a grassroots organization that has highlighted people who need essentials,” Kevin shared. “They could be children, they could be people who don’t have a house or a home, and we gather some sort of a backpack to hold these essential items; food items, water, shampoo, etc. We then get volunteers from the community to spend a couple of hours just loading these things up.”
“So it kind of increases volunteerism and giving back. Also, a lot of what sixdegrees.org has been about is finding grassroots organizations, not huge huge charities but more like small groups in communities, boots on the ground who are looking to help out people in need.”
Kevin has already provided thousands of the homeless and children in need with essential kits, and now for the 40th anniversary of his movie Footloose, he plans to give 40,000 more.
Kevin shared his enthusiasm for doing something positive and encouraging local communities to volunteer their time.
“To me, one of the most exciting aspects is the volunteerism. Spending time doing something positive is mutually beneficial—it gives back in both directions.”
During one recent giving event, Kevin, along with his brother and volunteers, distributed 300 backpacks to children in need.
“One of the first events we organized involved building 300 backpacks for kids in the area. It felt so good to do, and the impact was undeniably positive.”
Kevin founded his nonprofit, sixdegrees.org, in 2007, inspired by Paul Newman’s philanthropic endeavors.
“At a certain point, when I had children and grew up, I became aware of the world’s issues through the news. I looked at Paul Newman and his successful ventures like Newman’s Own, and thought, ‘That’s cool, he’s turned his success into something positive.’ I wanted to do something similar, so I started sixdegrees.org and began discussing ideas with smart people.”
Kevin believes in spreading compassion and positivity wherever he goes.
“I try to show compassion to everyone I encounter and contribute as much good energy to the world as I can.”