Paul Wesley is known for playing the brooding Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. But off screen, the actor uses his fame to bring awareness to a very worthy cause; the protection and fair treatment of animals.
Wesley has been a tremendous advocate of The Humane Society and has been awarded the Humane Generation Award for his efforts. A Paul Wesley website “Paul Wesley Chronicles” decided to use their platform for reaching out to fans to raise for money for The Humane Society.
Cindy Childers, who is the founder of the Chronicles, told us that she “wanted to start having fan events in Paul’s honor to socialize with other fans and to also raise money to support his charity of his choice. Childers was able to meet with the actor, to discuss her idea of fans gathering together. Paul Wesley was thrilled! Childers told us that he was the most excited over fans coming together to raise money for the Humane Society in his honor.
The first event was a fan get together dinner event at the Mystic Grill that raised $750.00. These funds were donated directly to the Newton County Humane Society. Paul took time out of his busy schedule directing an episode of The Vampire Diaries to Facetime the fans to thank them for raising money for a good cause.
Childers and her group have been attending our famous Finale events for the past two years and set up a booth with information on the Humane Society and Paul Wesley Chronicles. The group also held a raffle for autographed merchandise from Paul Wesley and other cast members, and sold merchandise at their booth, with all of the proceeds donated to the Humane Society of the United States.
This year, the fans outdid themselves. They arrived at Founder’s Day and were immediately inundated by people who wished to help. By the end of the evening, Paul Wesley Chronicles would raise $2500!
Bob and Dena Somerhalder (Ian’s older brother) also contributed by donating a percentage of their earnings from selling Paul Wesley merchandise at the recent Vampire Diaries Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The contributions were matched by a corporation through the Humane Society which brought the final amount to $5200! Childers was able to fly to Chicago to meet with Paul Wesley and to present the fan raised donations.
We couldn’t have been more proud to be a part of such a wonderful cause. Paul Wesley Chronicles is a shining example of fans coming together to support causes that are near and dear to celebrity’s hearts. So far, the group has raised over $7100 to help the Humane Society. Congratulations on your splendid campaign to help aid in the fair treatment of animals!
