The Real Housewives franchise gives so much to its fans, especially in terms of entertainment value. And many Real Housewives stars use their fame, fortune, and influence for good by giving back. Philanthropy is a major part of every iteration of the Bravo franchise. Often, the shows feature charity events where, naturally, drama occurs between co-stars. Some of these fundraisers even become recurring events every season. For instance, look at the material Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has mined out of Dorit Kemsley’s work with Homeless Not Toothless (cue Kathy Hilton mistakenly calling it “Toothless and Homeless”).
When discussing the Real Housewives, it’s easy to focus on the feuds, the villains, and the controversies. But that’s not all there is to this series, or to the ladies that star in it. So, today, we’re choosing to focus on the Housewives’ good deeds, in support of great causes, that can get overlooked.
Danielle Cabral’s Party Like A Housewife for Sunrise Day Camp Staten Island
The fate of Real Housewives of New Jersey may be in limbo right now. But no matter what, we have two cast members on our list who are doing whatever they can to give back.
Danielle Cabral champions the Sunrise Day Camp in Staten Island. This allows kids with cancer (and their siblings) to go to an all-day summer camp free of charge. There are additional programs year-round for the kids as well. It’s an undeniably great cause that Danielle has supported for several years, even before she joined RHONJ.
To ensure kids can go to the day camp for free, Danielle hosts the annual “Party Like a Housewife” fundraiser event. In 2023, the event raised $25,000. This past year, she was joined by co-stars Rachel Fuda and Melissa Gorga, which she posted about on her Instagram. And she even reunited with her estranged father!
The organization’s CEO gushed over Danielle, telling silive.com, “She cares deeply about our campers and their families, and we are incredibly grateful for her years of support.”
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Bronwyn Newport offers to buy teachers school supplies
RHOSLC newcomer Bronwyn Newport has already made quite a splash, especially with her outlandish and fantastic style. Ahead of Season 5’s premiere, Bronwyn also used social media to show off her interests and values, so that RHOSLC viewers could get to know her. And what a good impression she’s managed so far!
Ahead of the back-to-school season, she wrote on X, “If you are a teacher send me your Amazon wishlist and I will send some classrooms some items to kick off this school year right!” Proving true to her word, Bronwyn shared screenshots of the purchases she made for teachers. To quote someone in her tweet’s replies, “From your profile, I see you love drag, and you’re supporting teachers. Might have to tune in this season.”
In addition to supporting teachers, Bronwyn is passionate about quite a few charities and causes. She’s also a big supporter of voting rights, drag queens, and the organization that brings them together, Drag Out The Vote.
Lisa Vanderpump’s Vanderpump Dogs Foundation
Lisa Vanderpump’s love of dogs is legendary. It’s even the reason she left Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Fans will never forget the Lucy Lucy Apple Juice saga! But while that storyline was a low point for RHOBH, Lisa’s animal rights activism is a high point of her career.
Though Lisa was already famous for her love of animals (even Giggy was a celebrity), she officially launched the Vanderpump Dogs Foundation in 2016. Since its inception, the foundation has supported important legislation, hosts the annual World Dog Day, and advocates for animal rights initiatives worldwide. For instance, one of Lisa’s biggest causes is rescuing pups from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival and the meat trade in China. In her home base of California, she opened the Vanderpump Dogs Rescue Center, encouraging prospective pet owners to adopt, not shop. The rescue center even got its own spin-off on Peacock.
Lisa’s Vanderpump Dogs organization was also heavily featured on Vanderpump Rules. That show also highlighted Lisa’s support for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly during West Hollywood’s annual Pride parade.
Meredith Marks’ donations and assistance at The GLAAD Media Awards
It’s not just ruhmerze– RHOSLC OG Meredith Marks is a very proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Her support for GLAAD comes across both on and off-screen. This includes donating proceeds from her jewelry line, and tee shirts, in honor of Pride. In Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 2, we saw her put together a Pride photo shoot. In 2023 and 2024, she attended, and assisted at, the GLAAD Media Awards. And she’s passionate about the importance of representation in media.
Her advocacy also starts at home. In an interview with GLAAD, Meredith gushed about her son, Brooks Marks. “I’m beyond proud as as a mother, as an entrepreneur, as everything,” Meredith said, “just seeing the way he has grown and matured and is finding his space that he sits in.” RHOSLC viewers know how close Meredith is with her youngest child, and how fiercely proud and protective she is of him. The designer had similar words of praise for his mom. Brooks also called the GLAAD Awards the best event he’s ever been to.
Dolores Catania’s annual charity softball game
Dolores Catania was named Bravo’s Miss Congeniality for a reason! The RHONJ fan-favorite champions many causes, including animal rights. In what’s become an annual tradition on RHONJ (at least in its current form), Dolores leads a team of her co-stars in a charity softball game. The Battle for Brooklyn is still going strong, raising donations to fund the Maimonides Health initiatives. RHONJ filming may be paused, but the match-up between Housewives and Maimonides’ healthcare team went on for the fifth year in a row. This year’s game raised over $100,000 to go towards the hospital’s Breast Center in Brooklyn.
Dolores’ commitment to breast cancer awareness is well known to RHONJ fans. She even got a mammogram and a biopsy on the show. At last year’s game, she gave a shout-out to another beloved Real Housewives star, Guerdy Abraira, who is now cancer-free. Hopefully, the softball game will continue, no matter what happens with RHONJ.
TELL US – DID YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THESE REAL HOUSEWIVES’ GOOD DEEDS FOR GREAT CAUSES? WHAT OTHER HOUSEWIVES’ PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS AND CAUSES SHOULD WE HIGHLIGHT?
