Lance Bass - Philanthropy and Causes

Philanthropy and Causes

Bass has been involved with a number of charities during his career. In 2001, Bass founded The Lance Bass Foundation, a non-profit organization that was designed to meet the health needs of low-income children. In 2003, Bass donated $30,000 US to establish the Amber Pulliam Special Education Endowment at The University of Southern Mississippi. The endowment is in honor of his younger cousin, Amber Pulliam, who has Down's Syndrome, and was established to financially aid students from Mississippi's Pine Belt who plan a career in special education.

After 2005's Hurricane Katrina, Bass launched "uBid For Hurricane Relief", a celebrity auction to benefit victims of the hurricane, with uBid.com. Proceeds from the auction were split between the Child Welfare League of America, The Brett Favre Fourward Mississippi Foundation, and Ashton Kutcher's RockWorks Foundation. Many of Bass's family members in Mississippi were directly affected by the hurricane. That same year, Bass appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where he wrote a check for $50,000 US and presented it to a Russian woman with Cerebral Palsy who started a camp for disabled Russian children.

Bass is a member of the Environmental Media Association's Board of Directors. He has also been involved with Animal Avengers, Shannon Elizabeth's animal rescue organization. He has two dogs which he adopted from a rescue shelter, both of whom he posed with in a PETA ad urging people to adopt rather than buy animals. In August 2007, Bass wrote a guest commentary for LOGO's "Visible Vote '08" blog, in which he expressed support for gay marriage. In September 2007, Bass participated in a series of GLAAD television advertisements promoting tolerance for the LGBT community. Bass has also been involved in fundraising for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.