Misha Collins is an American actor known for his role as the angel Castiel in the CW’s “Supernatural.” During and after working on the television show, Collins has advocated for numerous issues. He participates in grassroots activism and charity, mental health initiatives and supports human rights and disability awareness. Additionally, Collins founded the Random Acts organization, helped launch the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network, co-created The AnteSocial project and is an official ambassador for UNITED24.

Overall, Collins is widely known for his advocacy endeavors. Below is an exploration of Collins’ philanthropic work and his organizations in their fight against global poverty and their assistance for nations that have faced various crises. This focuses on three of his projects (work for UNITED24, Random Acts and The AnteSocial) with regard to Ukraine and minorities in the U.S. concerning poverty, living conditions, community building and food equity.

UNITED24

“Know that your courage, tenacity, strength and dignity in your fight with evil is an inspiration for the whole world,” Collins said this in Ukrainian in a video address for UNITED24. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Collins has shown support for Ukraine. During one of his visits to Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Collins to join the UNITED24 team, becoming an ambassador for the Humanitarian Demining program.

Humanitarian Demining involves removing landmines to decontaminate land for civilians. Collins has made multiple trips to Ukraine, specifically impoverished areas, to assist with this program. After his visit in 2024, he started a fundraiser to raise money for a demining vehicle, raising $450,000. Since 2023, Collins’ philanthropic work has focused on Ukraine and UNITED24, stating, “Even if the war in Ukraine ends tomorrow, the legacy of the war will remain until the entire land is cleared of mines.”

The AnteSocial

The AnteSocial was founded by Misha Collins and his partner, Emily Farallon. The two met and laid the groundwork for this organization while trying to convince local landlords to donate vacant units to families experiencing homelessness. From there, they began projects to help their local community in hopes of having a positive impact on global communities. They now use this platform to bring communities together, allowing for fundraising opportunities to address issues such as homelessness, poverty and assisting children.

Random Acts

Random Acts is a nonprofit organization that showcases Misha Collins’ philanthropic work. Almost 600 “acts of kindness” were funded within the year. Collins founded this organization in 2010 and its activities include toy drives, food equity efforts, community service and building schools in Nicaragua. Random Acts was created after Collins raised more than $30,000 for the UNICEF disaster relief program following a devastating earthquake in Haiti.

He and the organization then shifted their attention to building a children’s orphanage in Haiti, completed in 2013. Since then, Random Acts has worked on causes such as animal welfare, childhood hunger, clothing donations, community improvement, food equity, holiday acts for underprivileged individuals, homelessness, natural disasters, youth, social justice and more.

Conclusion

Misha Collins’ philanthropic work knows no end. As mentioned, Collins is primarily recognized as an actor for his portrayal of the angel Castiel on “Supernatural.” Yet, he holds more similarities to the character than one may realize, including his pure intentions in helping the community. Collins has founded and supported four charities: Mercy Corps, Operation Smile, Represent.US and Random Acts.

He has also written numerous articles about advocacy and fighting global poverty, in addition to using his social media platforms to mobilize followers to do the same. Overall, Collins’ philanthropic work has proven his parallels to his angelic counterpart, which will only increase with his support of disaster relief, health care, human rights, politics, education and combating global poverty.

– Veronica Cham

Veronica is based in Dearborn, MI, USA and focuses on Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr