According to well-known actor/director Anthony Edwards, his role as a doctor on NBC’s hit drama E.R. impacted his life much more than he initially thought. As a result, he is advocating the construction of the first public children’s hospital in Kenya, which would be the largest children’s hospital in Africa. And he is raising awareness through none other than new media outlets.

The actor told WebProNews that he avoided new media for a long time. After he became involved with the charity Shoe4Africa and saw the need to raise awareness, he realized how powerful new media could be for communication. In reference to the blogosphere and twittersphere, Edwards said:

“There’s a transparency here that, if your message is real and good, people are gonna get it.”

He views these forms of social media as valuable tools for not only his charity, but for any cause. In addition to getting the message out, new media provides a sense of urgency that other outlets do not offer. Because pediatric health has been overlooked in Africa for too long, Edwards sees the need to act now.  He even began tweeting for the cause at this year’s BlogWorld Expo. The actor believes new media will raise the awareness and support his charity desperately needs.

Incidentally, Edwards will be running in the ING New York City Marathon on November 1 to raise funds for Shoe4Africa. If you would like to learn more and even contribute to this cause, visit Shoe4Africa or the organization’s Facebook Causes page.

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