The price of empathy can be as little as $1.50 a day. Several of Hollywood's biggest bold-faced names — including Ben Affleck, Josh Groban, Sophia Bush and Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden — will take on the challenge of living on just $1.50 worth of food and drink to raise awareness for global poverty starting Apr. 29.
As part of the annual Live Below the Line initiative, the celebrities will join Cooking Channel personalities Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos in a bid to encourage their fans to learn more about the extreme poverty that is taking place around the globe.
"Taking on this challenge last year was such a humbling experience for me, and I was so proud and heartened by my fans that joined me," Groban, 32, said in a statement. The singer even wrote a song on his new album based on his revelations. "It's amazing how much we take for granted not having to live in hunger, and I am honored to have been asked to help spread the word about this eye-opening campaign again this year."
The campaign hopes to raise awareness of other global organizations as well, including Opportunity International, World Food Program USA, Happy Hearts Fund, and UNICEF, among others.
Biden, who serves as the Chairman of World Food Program USA, added that his own travels inspired him to get involved with the campaign in the first place: "I've seen firsthand how school feeding can change the life of a child in my travels to places like the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. At just 25 cents a meal, school meals have the power to break the cycle of hunger, giving children the chance to learn, grow and a reach their full potential."
Other celebrities who have been involved in the campaign over the past three years include Hugh Jackman, Malin Akerman, Minka Kelly and Nick Lachey.
