Renowned actor, Paul Walker, was killed in a devastating car accident this past November. This sudden tragedy left many shocked and completely devastated.
In Walker’s 40 short years, he accomplished more than many people do in a whole lifetime. He was known worldwide for the “Fast and Furious” movies, in which he starred as Brian O’Conner, a young and captivating race car driver. Other than the “Fast and Furious” series, he also had smaller roles in shows including “Highway to Heaven,” “Who’s the Boss?” and the soap opera “The Young and the Restless.”
Although Walker is mainly known for his acting career, one thing many people do not know about is his charitable work as a notable humanitarian.
Following the massive earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, Walker felt motivated and proceeded to use his own money to begin his own organization. He started the charity known as Reach Out Worldwide which, on its website ROWW.org, is known as a “network of professionals with first responder skill-sets who augment local expertise when natural disasters strike in order to accelerate relief efforts.” Some of the relief efforts include aiding those affected by the Illinois tornadoes, Typhoon Haiyan, the Colorado flood, the Oklahoma City tornado, the Philippines typhoon, the Alabama tornado, the Indonesia tsunami, the Chile earthquake, and the Haiti earthquake.
ROWW.org states: “While part of a relief team responding to the massive earthquakes that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, Actor/Producer Paul Walker saw a gap between the availability of skilled resources and the requirement for such personnel in post-disaster situations. Following the trip he contacted a group of his friends to assist him in forming ROWW with the purpose of filling this unmet need.”
In 2011, a terrible tornado hit Tuscaloosa Alabama, and Walker felt inspired to help the victims of the storm. Not only did he donate his own money to the cause, he also traveled to Tuscaloosa himself and assisted in manual labor to help restore the area. After aiding in this relief effort, Walker became inspired to continue helping others. JD Dorfman, Reach Out Worldwide operations manager, commented on Walker’s journey in Tuscaloosa in Huffingtonpost.com saying, “He didn’t want anyone to know he was there. All he wanted was a chainsaw, and point him in the right direction – he wanted to go to work. Paul’s fingers were as dirty as yours were.”
Ultimately, the death of Paul Walker resulted not only in the loss of a remarkable actor, but also in the loss of a generous humanitarian as well.