Poll Finds Support for Use of Celebrities to Help Charitable Causes Gain Notice

By ZIYA SERDAR TUMGOREN

One in three Americans believes that more entertainment celebrities should get involved in helping charitable or social causes gain publicity than currently do, according to a recent public-opinion poll.

About 23 percent think entertainers should be less involved in such activities, while the rest of those polled say their involvement level is just about right.

The survey, conducted in April by Slay Public Relations, in Richmond, Va., also found that 37 percent of the Americans surveyed believe that entertainment stars are best able to generate stories by news organizations, beating out politicians (chosen by 27 percent) and athletes (19 percent).

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 1,037 Americans selected at random.

A Controversial Comment

Of the nine celebrities mentioned to people participating in the survey, the comedian Jerry Lewis was picked by the most survey participants — 36 percent — as the star who has done the best job promoting a social cause. Mr. Lewis has long promoted the work of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

But having a celebrity sponsor is not without risks. Earlier this month, Mr. Lewis issued a public apology for remarks he made during a recent interview on “CBS News Sunday Morning.” The Muscular Dystrophy Association received more than 100 complaints following Mr. Lewis’s comment that donors contributed to the organization out of a sense of “pity” for disabled people.

Yet despite Mr. Lewis’s often strained relationship over the years with some supporters and disability-rights advocates, he has helped raise $1.6-billion through the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethons he has participated in over the past 50 years.

Other celebrities picked by survey participants as the most recognizable and effective for their work with nonprofit organizations included:

• Michael J. Fox (picked by 16 percent) for his efforts to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
• Charlton Heston (9 percent) for promoting the National Rifle Association, of which he is president.
• Christopher Reeve (8 percent) for his work to raise funds for spinal-cord research.