If you see “Bruce Wayne” trending on social media this afternoon, it’s likely because The Dark Knight star Christian Bale has been drawing comparisons to his screen alter-ego after announcing a charitable initiative that’s very on-brand. Bale, along with his wife Sibi Blazic, has co-founded Together California, a nonprofit that is building 12 houses for foster children in the state. The aim is to keep kids together with their siblings, and help older foster kids begin to transition from the foster care system into their adult lives. Bale reportedly started mulling the idea almost 20 years ago, when his daughter was born.
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According to The Guardian, Bale is helping to construct a complex of facilities to help kids in the California foster system, after having been shocked to learn how many children are stuck in the system and could use a hand. The project will cost an estimated $22 million, and has a targeted completion date in 2025.
“Imagine the absolute pain and the trauma of losing your parents or being torn from your parents, and then losing your brothers and sisters on top of that,” Together California said in a statement. “That’s no way to treat kids. And so, we will be the hub for that. I hope that this village will be the first of many, and I hope that people, Californians and Angelenos, know to come join us in opening our eyes to what’s happening right under our noses. These are our children, and we must help our children.”
“I grew up with a dad who was always very active and altruistic, and we would be headed to protests and shouting at Maggie Thatcher and stuff. As a kid, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I loved it, and I just admired the hell out of my dad in that way that he went out of his way to care for other people….We were always having other people coming and living in our house who didn’t have homes, etc. That’s just the guy that he was.”
The headlines have attracted attention on social media not just because it’s nice when an actor does a good deed, but because the idea of Bruce Wayne funding a home for disadvantaged youth is something we’ve seen before: Wayne Manor has been transformed into an orphanage in several versions of the Batman mythology, including in The Dark Knight Rises, Bale’s final outing as the character.
The red tape involved with a massive construction project and launching a nonprofit reportedly created a long delay for the process.
“I had the very unrealistic idea that within one year I’d have created a miniature Sound of Music with kids singing on hills in an endlessly joyful environment,” Bale admitted. But I discovered no, it takes an awful long time and really well-motivated people. It’s complicated and tough to help kids. It should be a hell of a lot easier than it was but I didn’t flinch for one second.”
