Entertainment

Ben Affleck Earned This Honor at the PCAs

by Nicole Pomarico

There are a lot of reasons to love Ben Affleck: He's good looking, his marriage to Jennifer Garner is adorable, and Gone Girl was an awesome movie. But there's another reason that's more important than all of those things: the time, money, and energy he devotes to improving lives in Africa. Wednesday night's People's Choice Awards reminded us exactly why he's such a good guy, and it's all about his philanthropy. This year, he was honored for the work he's done with his organization, the Eastern Congo Initiative, with an award for Favorite Humanitarian.

After Amy Adams took the stage to introduce him (and shower him with compliments about his work), a video played showing off all the good Affleck has done in Africa — plus a little commentary on his efforts from the actor himself. "It's important for me to try my hand at philanthropy because I want to leave behind a record of someone who did more than just gobble up stuff for himself," Affleck said in the video. "I've realized that a life lived just for yourself is not really a life."

So what exactly is the Eastern Congo Initiative? According to the organization's website, they seek to improve the lives of the people of Congo by creating schools and doing work in the community in the hopes of improving economic and social conditions. And Affleck's acceptance speech — which followed a standing ovation from the audience — was kind of adorable, if not just the right amount of self-deprecating.

"Watching that, I was just embarrassed," he said. "I've had the privilege of working alongside so many incredible people in Congo and all over the world who I assure you are far more deserving, and I've been lucky to spend time working with real humanitarians."

Affleck, for what it's worth, you're a real humanitarian to me.