Robin Williams far more than just a talented comic, his charity work impacted many

The sudden and unexpected loss of Robin Williams has dominated the news this week and sincere condolences are extended to his family and friends. I feel that we’ve lost someone incredibly special on Monday, a man well known for his comedic ability and acting talent but you’ll also notice that he was equally well regarded away from the world of celebrity as a warm and caring man who took a genuine interest in everyone he met and tried to make the world a better place where he could.

To see someone make such a positive impact to so many while at the same time struggle so deeply with his own depression speaks volumes about the tightrope that Robin Williams walked and it’s especially tragic that for all the help he brought to others and joy that he undoubtedly spread he wasn’t able to overcome his long-standing battle with depression. It’s always saddening to lose someone so intense about life and immensely talented and I felt an appropriate testament to Robin Williams would be to briefly highlight some of the charity work he performed over the decades.

Williams devoted huge amounts of time and funding to many charities including Comic Relief, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the LiveStrong Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and many more. Organizations that assisted the homeless were especially near to his heart and perhaps his awareness of mental health issues even helped him to better understand those in that predicament in addition to his compassion for those less fortunate.

Bob Zmuda who created Comic Relief in North America said

“When we started [Comic Relief], we had to figure out what would be a suitable cause. Nobody was more adamant than Robin that it should help the homeless. Robin came from a family with money — he was brought up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and I think he felt so blessed that he wanted to do something for people who weren’t brought up like that.”

Zmuda said because of Williams, Goldberg and Crystal, Comic Relief has raised more than $80 million.

Over the days ahead many will remember Robin for his amazing quickfire humour and magnificent cinematic roles and I hope just as many remember what a kind, warm and compassionate person he was, a man who believed in helping his fellow man wherever he could via philanthropic efforts.

I feel another appropriate gesture to best remember Robin is to reach out to anyone you know that might be suffering from depression and lend them your ear and your heart, do it today and do it again in the weeks and months ahead. You could change their life just by being there for them, depression is such a struggle for those who have it and some say perhaps half of those suffering are never even diagnosed. Please reach out and help a friend or family member if you can.

Rest in peace Robin, you’ll not be forgotten.

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