Fi(red) Up

Today's edition of "The Post" included an article that a student @ Baylor University had written about the Product Red campaign. The full article can be viewed here.
I am a strong believer in the greater good. Granted not everyone who donates is doing it because they care, most are doing it because it's a fad or to blow their trumpet using their chest, face or feet. However when it comes to charity, I believe the end justifies the means. When the people who need the money are getting their basic provisions or when research in AIDS is being advanced, the question will not be why did it take a fad to get them to donate; the thought will be how can we make people go deeper into their pockets. Short of killing someone and embezzling their money, I doubt that the source of the money is not important.
Yes those of us in under-developed countries need more than money thrown at us, but I will be the first to tell you that those children will tell you that the money is a start. Sometimes I hear people who talk about charity from a distance condemn and chastise these famous people for selling a fad and I wonder what these same critics are doing. What efforts have you personally made to advance one kid or to educate the illiterate or help the needy? Yet you want to stay on your soap-box and criticise Bono, Oprah, Angelina or Clooney for using their fame to raise money for a cause that is needed.
And when you think about it, these yuppies and their (red)-tagged attires will influence others who see this as a real cause. After all, Malcolm X did not wake up thinking revolution, Elijah Muhammed brought about his awareness and we all know what kind of person Elijah was.