The charity fame game

By Judy Martel • Bankrate.com

Wednesday, Sept. 2
Posted 9 a.m. EDT

Aside from being photographed at hot spots like West Hollywood's Coco de Ville or traveling via private jet, what's a privileged scion to do with all that excessive visibility?

Well, they could follow the example of 25-year-old Lauren Bush, both the niece and granddaughter of former presidents. She is using her celebrity status to found a cause that feeds hungry children around the world, and her creative talents to promote it.

Bush, activist and budding fashion designer, is honorary spokeswoman of the United Nations World Food Program's School Feeding operations. Astutely predicting the desire of many of the world's fashionistas to appear both au courant and philanthropic, she has designed a "Feed 2" bag, (two Kenyan children fed in school for one year) being sold exclusively at the venerable Fifth Avenue flagship of style, Bergdorf Goodman.

Granted, the burlap bag (sack would be a more accurate description) is not an item most would rush to pay $195 for on its own merit -- despite the fact that it is hand-stitched by Kenyan women in the traditional fabric of the Masai.

Yet the bag's very plainness, and the prominence of the beaded word "FEED" tells the world that its bearer supports a worthy global cause, not that she can afford luxury for its own sake. Each bag includes a $100 donation to the U.N. program. It's perfectly timed to capitalize on the underground sentiment many wealthy have toward displaying their riches in the wake of the latest recession -- that is: if you've got it, don't flaunt it.

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