Isaiah Washington, 43

Former Grey's Anatomy star, currently shooting five episodes of NBC's new drama The Bionic Woman, premiering Sept. 26.

Mission: His Gondobay Manga Foundation is building a school in the Njala Kendema village in Sierra Leone; 350 students are to start there this September.

Why this cause: After discovering his genetic link to Sierra Leone, he made two trips to the war-torn country and realized the need.

On safety: "I feel safer in Sierra Leone than I do in L.A., because they're my people and they're not trying to hurt you. If anything, they're maybe going to try to get money out of you to survive."

On personal ties: "There is one boy, about 8 years old, who I fell in love with. But I'm not interested in stripping him of his culture. My wife and I have three kids already, but we have talked about (adoption), and we're not ruling it out."

Personal benefits: "This is the thing that kept me sane. While all the negative was happening (on former series Grey's Anatomy), I had all this support over there. When I get to the point when I'm very frustrated, I go to my website to check e-mails from all over the world who want to help out."