Nicole Richie and Joel Madden on 5/22/08. Credit: Fame

I feel I must give props where props are due (please read that in a Victorian manner, it sounds better). A lot of celebs make a lot of promise about all the changes they’re going to make after they’ve gotten in trouble. Go to church, go to Africa, just not be such a sucky person, etc. Yes I’m talking to you Paris Hilton.

If you’d asked me who was the least likely to follow through on non-court mandated volunteer work, I would have said Nicole Richie. And I probably would have placed her odds as about the same as Paris’. And I probably would have lost some money.

Nicole has really followed through with the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation, co-created with boyfriend/baby daddy Joel Madden. It’s hard to know how much of it is Nicole and how much is Joel. But either way, the couple has consistently raised money for underprivileged children over the last several months, and stayed active with the foundation. Their latest campaign has raised $10,000 that will go towards a playground.

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are turning text messages into serious money for kids in need.

A week after they launched their Text CHILD to 90999 campaign, the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation has raised close to $10,000 toward their goal of $35,000 to build a playground for the children at Beyond Shelter in Los Angeles.

The funds came in via 1,825 text messages, each donating $5, from donations in 48 states.

[From People]

It’s really easy to dismiss what Nicole has done, and I’m not trying to claim there’s some significant personality change. But it doesn’t really matter what the reason is or if they’re just getting donations because of their famous names. Nicole and Joel have followed through on their promises and children that are in need are benefiting from it.