Editor's Note: In an American Morning original series, "Big Stars, Big Giving," CNN National Correspondent Alina Cho looks at celebrity philanthropy and how these big stars can make a big impact. Through one-on-one interviews with Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore and Justin Bieber, she shares what causes have become their passions, and how you can get involved. The one-hour special debuts December 24th and airs again on December 25th.

Halle Berry may be best known for her work in "Monster's Ball" and "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," but did you know she's also been working to help victims of domestic violence?

Berry has been a volunteer at the Jenesse Center, a shelter for domestic violence victims, for more than a decade. She chose the Jenesse Center, in part because she grew up with domestic violence.

“I think I’ve spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self esteem that that sort-of implanted in me," Berry says. "When I see the woman that I aspire to be like, being my mother, be beaten and treated like the gum on the bottom of your shoe, in some ways, that’s how I started to feel about myself.”

Berry is currently donating her time and money toward rebuilding rundown apartments at the shelter so women who flee their abusive partners have a clean and happy place of refuge.

To find out more about the Jenesse Center or to make a donation, visit Jenesse.org If you live in the Los Angeles area and need help from an abusive situation, call the Jenesse Center at 1800-479-7328. For help outside the L.A. area, call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1800-799-7233.

To learn more on giving, and ways you can make a difference this holiday season, visit Impact Your World.

Editor's Note: In an American Morning original series, "Big Stars, Big Giving," CNN National Correspondent Alina Cho looks at celebrity philanthropy and how these big stars can make a big impact.

Here are some behind-the-scenes photos of Alina Cho's interview with Halle Berry. To find out more about the Jenesse Center or to make a donation, visit Jenesse.org If you live in the Los Angeles area and need help for an abusive situation, call the Jenesse Center at 1800-479-7328. For help outside the L.A. area, call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1800-799-7233.

Photos by Ethel Bass, CNN Producer.
FULL POST

Editor's Note: In an American Morning original series, "Big Stars, Big Giving," CNN National Correspondent Alina Cho looks at celebrity philanthropy and how these big stars can make a big impact. Through one-on-one interviews with Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Edward Norton, Julianne Moore and Justin Bieber, she shares what causes have become their passions, and how you can get involved. The one-hour special debuts December 24th and airs again on December 25th.

Nicole Kidman is a longtime goodwill ambassador for UNIFEM, the United Nations arm that fights for gender equality and to end violence against women.

Kidman was moved to act after her mother heard a report on the radio about a UNIFEM program in Cambodia. She says she was raised to be a feminist.

"A lot of my life, I've been trying to please my mother," she says. "This is probably the thing she most responds to in my life."

To get involved or read more about the U.N.'s "Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women," visit Unifem.org/untfevaw or in the U.S., text UNITE to 27722 to donate $10 to the fund.

To learn more on giving, and ways you can make a difference this holiday season, visit Impact Your World.