American actor Kal Penn has just donated $25,000 to Palestinian refugees.
Penn, who is best known for his role as Kumar Patel from the popular film series "Harold and Kumar", recently won MasterChef Celebrity. He decided to donate the prize money to the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA USA, saying that the money can "feed over a thousand people for a year."
Of course, the organization was thrilled after the news broke.
"BRAVO, Kal Penn! We can't thank you enough for your generosity and for highlighting the plight of Palestine refugees," the NGO said in a Facebook post.
Eight celebrities competed in a cooking "showdown" on Monday. Each participant chose a non-profit organization to donate the prize money to.
The refugee organization saw an increase in donations following the show.
Abby Smardon, executive director of UNRWA USA, told Middle East Eye that the "most exciting part" is that the issue of Palestinian refugees has now been brought to the public's attention through "prime time television – talking about Palestinian refugees in a positive way." She pointed out that this "doesn't happen enough, particularly in U.S. media."
Palestinian refugees make up 44 percent of the world's refugee population
People are saying "Bravo! Well done!"
Keeping the plight of Palestinian refugees in the world's conscience
Congratulations and love started pouring in after Penn's win
Penn, a former official in the White House Office of Public Engagement under President Barack Obama, has always been a strong advocate for humanitarian causes, especially when it comes to refugees.
In November 2015, Penn was "disgusted" to see some Democratic lawmakers support a bill that would have restricted the number of Syrian refugees allowed to enter the U.S.
"Disgusted to see some House Democrats join crazy Republicans in stoking mass hysteria on the refugee issue Rep. Jared Polis I'm looking at you," Penn said in a tweet.