Source: ezinearticles.com
Behind the music of Michael Jackson was his love of putting a spark in the eye of a child who was economically or medically disadvantaged.
In 1988, after Jackson acquired the Sycamore Valley Ranch and renamed it Neverland, he installed many of the things he said he never got a chance to do as a child: Arcade games, Ferris wheel, carnival rides, a pond, waterslide, giant squirt guns, a menagerie ...
School buses sponsored by various civic, social and church groups from the East Los, "Michael Jackson", Angeles and Compton areas transported hordes of underprivileged children, too poor to go to Disneyland, to theme park rides at Neverland. Jackson also equip Neverland to accommodate special needs children. Its 80-seat theater included three hospital beds for the chronic and terminal ill.
The Heal The World Foundation, founded by Jackson in 1992, hosted sleepovers for children with life threatening medical conditions and provided an opportunity for many of them to meet the famous singer. The Foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war and disease.
Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the non-profit organization Warchild, where they raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala.
Jackson also organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, the Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Rabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana Chandrakumar, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO.
Through the Heal The World Foundation Jackson airlifted 46 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, instituted drug and alcohol abuse education and donated millions of dollars to less fortunate children. During his Bad World Tour, Jackson invited underprivileged children to watch for free and gave donations to hospitals, orphanages and other charities. And all profits from his Dangerous World Tour concerts went to the Heal the World Foundation raising millions of dollars in relief.
"Everything I do is inspired by children. If it weren't for children I'd throw in the towel. I'd have no reason to live," Jackson once said. " ... I haven't been betrayed or deceived by children. Adults have let me down."
Jackson has done much to repay that source of inspiration. For the illness and death of Ryan white, he helped draw public attention to HIV/AIDS, something that was still controversial at the time. He publicly pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research.
He took Dave Dave (Dave Rothenberg), a California youth, into his life and into the hearts of the Jackson family, and was like a father figure to the boy, after his real father had doused him with kerosene, lit a match, and burnt 90% of his 6 year old body. Michael Jackson was a friend to Dave Dave for over 30 years.
When the singer toured abroad much of his free time was spent visiting children hospitals. On one trip he came upon a Hungarian child with blue pigment. After learning that the boy was dying for, "Michael Jackson", need of a liver transplant, Jackson immediately tendered full payment for the operation.
In 2000, he was listed in the book of Guinness World Records for his support of 39 different charities, more than any other entertainer. However as early as 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.
Portraying himself as an advocate for children around the world, he was once quoted as saying, "Mother Teresa's not here, Lady Di is not here, Audrey Hepburn is not here... there is no voice for the voiceless."
And now that Michael Jackson is no longer here, in the eyes of many disadvantaged children, there is no spark.
Larry Carter is an Old-School scholar, a life-long follower and avid fan of Michael Jackson. His articles seek to debunk traditional American media misrepresentations of the most extraordinary entertainer and personality of our times. He is currently working on a book about the International Superstar.
http://www.SuperStarOfPop.com
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