We’ve written about many corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives from various companies, but we feel it’s important to also recognize celebrities that lend their names or talents to charity projects. Meryl Streep is another terrific example of a celebrity using their notoriety and financial success to support an important project. The actress who is currently starring on the silver screen in the Margaret Thatcher bio-pic The Iron Lady, donated her entire salary to the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM). And just last night during the Golden Globe Awards, Streep was rewarded as best actress in a drama for her incredible performance in the film.

Photo: Annie Leibovitz vogue.com

The NWHM is a project that is currently trying to come to fruition in Washington D.C. The idea behind the NWHM is to represent a side of history that is often overlooked – the role that women have played in shaping America. The museum has been met with resistance from congress as funding is needed.

Streep’s involvement in the NWHM does not stop at her sizable monetary donation. When she was asked to appear on the cover of the January 2012 issue of Vogue, her stipulation was that a group of powerful Washington women be included. The members of this group are all involved in getting the NWHM built and operating. At 62, Streep is the oldest woman to ever grace the cover of the fashion magazine, a feat in of itself.  The two-time Academy Award winner was joined by Joan Wages, the president and CEO of the NWHM, Senator Susan Collins, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and noted poet Maya Angelou for the spread. The photos taken by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz, also included Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and former first-daughters Barbara Bush and Patricia Nixon Cox.

These notable women are fighting for this museum because up until the twentieth century primarily men wrote history books and women were often forgotten or their roles downplayed. In Washington there are many museums that celebrate different aspects and segments of American history, but not one that is dedicated to the impact that women have had on the country.

It’s a bold and impressive move for Meryl Streep to donate her salary to this cause and it makes perfect sense. She played Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister in British history, a woman with politics that may have been polarizing but did leave a lasting legacy on the world. It would seem that donating her salary from this role is as important as Streep’s participation in making the NWHM a reality. Her involvement in the project brings prestige, credibility and most of all, attention to the cause. Companies make donations all the time as part of their CSR initiatives, but when one of the most celebrated actresses in the history of cinema gets involved in something, people take notice. Hopefully the donation from The Iron Lady will allow the impact of other notable women to be celebrated.
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