The Daily Tell

Many film lovers have played "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" to figure out how closely they are associated with the actor, striving for six or fewer relationships between them. But Kevin Bacon is much less interested in how fans can remotely link themselves to him than how they might find themselves connected to those in need.

Bacon’s charity web site – Six Degrees.org – is a "social networking site with a social conscience." Through Six Degrees, visitors to the site can support their favorite charities through donations and fundraising badges, and they can also learn about celebrities’ favorite causes.

Visitors to Six Degrees might find that dedication to one of countless causes links them to their favorite celebrities. Ellen DeGeneres, for example, has a badge on the site to help the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Ricky Gervais supports the American Friends of MacMillian Cancer Support. Joaquin Phoenix is devoted to helping The Art of Elysium.

The site’s information on dozens of celeb sponsored causes could help increase overall charitable activity. According to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, more than 30 percent of Americans don’t participate in charitable endeavors as much as they would like because they can’t find organizations that are a good fit. Six Degrees can help connect donors and volunteers with charities that most interest them – living up to the rules of the trivia game that bears its name.

Bacon is being honored for his charitable efforts at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on January 15. Meryl Streep will present him with the Joel Siegel Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

The honor is well-deserved. To date, the site has garnered almost $3 million and Bacon hopes that number will continue to grow. "The idea that we’re all connected as human beings on this planet and the things that we do to each other and for each other have a ripple effect… there’s a real kind of six-degrees reality to this planet right now," he said.