Eva Longoria is always looking at ways to help others, and her passion for giving back has rubbed off on her young son, Santiago, six.
The Desperate Housewives actress' little boy has grown up watching his mom go that extra mile to help those in need, and — as a result — is the "sweetest, kindest and most gentlemanly young man," according to Eva's good friend, Nick Ede, founder of East of Eden PR.
"At home, kindness and paying it forward is what the whole family is about," he told HELLO!
He added that Beppe, Eva's stepson, "is just the same". "I bought him a rucksack a few years ago as a gift and whenever I see him he remembers it and thanks me for it. Their lives are totally family and community focussed," he shared.
The actress has worked with a large number of charities over the years, including the Global Gift Gala — an international fundraising initiative which raises money and awareness for multiple causes for women, children and families around the world. But Eva's involvement goes far beyond attending the glitzy events.
Nick told HELLO!: "Everyone knows that Eva does so much work with the Global Gift Gala, but what people don't know is that she always asks to go and see the people who will benefit from the gala."
Case in point: the 2019 event — which helped children's charity Variety UK. Ahead of the gala, Eva visited students at a special needs school in north London which is supported by the charity. The star was spotted hugging and high-fiving the youngsters as she got involved with classroom activities.
Much of her charity work is done in her own time, away from the spotlight. Nick shared: "A few years before that we were working with Children in Need and there is a refuge for Latina women who live in the UK, women and children whose relationships have split up and they are left with nothing. It was a totally personal visit, for her to meet the women, speak to them in Spanish, and it gave everyone such an enormous boost. It was very low-key and with no publicity. She really is such an altruistic and really philanthropic person."
"She's such a lovely kind person, it's why she's my very close friend. She's so genuine, so passionate about her community, her children, wellbeing, just the loveliest person,"
The star has her own charity too, the Eva Longoria Foundation, which was founded in 2012. The organisation helps Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through the help of education and entrepreneurship. Starting the foundation was very much a natural progression of her upbringing.
"I come from a very philanthropic family. I have a sister who has special needs, and my mom was a special-education teacher for 30 years, so we always lived with the idea of giving back because we always needed those community resources," she told Town & Country. "I remember that 'volunteer' was a big word in our family, and I thought it was an actual job—like, 'when I grow up, I want to be a volunteer!'—and my mom taught me about that very early in life. I remember wondering, who are all of these people helping us, and they were just community philanthropic organisations. To me, it was important to continue that and give back, with or without fame."
Nick recalls that during Eva's time living in LA, she began to help the Hispanic community in hospitals during her spare time, translating diagnoses for patients who struggled with English. "She and her friends would literally spend their free time going in and helping translate," Nick said.