Last night, I watched the Disney classic "Mary Poppins" again with my six year old daughter.
She loves the movie, and enjoys singing along with all of the songs.
I must admit, I also enjoy the movie, and had forgotten how good a movie it actually is until I started watching it again with my daughter last year when we got the DVD.
However, this time I had even more respect for Dick Van Dyke than I used to, and I've always liked him.
What changed? I recently learned about his joining forces with the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to raise the alarm about the plight of our world's declining tiger population.
He is not the only celebrity that has contributed to saving tigers.
Leonardo DiCaprio spearheaded the WWF's Save Tigers Now campaign and is a member of the WWF Board.
Learning these facts about these celebrities and their commitment to helping save tigers gave me a greater respect for them, and will influence my viewing and supporting their projects.
As someone who has written about and supported groups trying to help the tiger populations for years, I was extremely glad to hear about DiCaprio's involvement, and while I've enjoyed his performances throughout the years, I have an even greater respect for him now.
Not only is DiCaprio now on the WWF Board, the actor and environmentalist attended a historic tiger summit in St.
Petersburg, Russia, where world leaders and those countries that still have wild tigers committed to a major plan to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.
The summit was hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin.
This International Tiger Conservation Forum capped a year-long process among multiple governments and achieved the commitment of tens of millions in new funding to support the Global Tiger Recovery Program.
DiCaprio did not only attend the summit, but also gifted $1 million to WWF's Save Tigers Now campaign.
This is a good start on the WWF's goal of raising $85 million for tiger conservation projects over the next five years.
I appreciate when celebrities donate their time and money to charitable causes, and for me, tiger conservation is very important because I would hate to see these magnificent animals disappear from the wild.
With as few as 3,200 tigers surviving in the wild, compared to nearly 100,000 a century ago, the commitments achieved at the summit are extremely important to ensure tigers remain in the wild and continue to survive as one of the world's best loved species.
Any and all support to save this endangered big cat is important, and will be appreciated each time I see Van Dyke or DiCaprio on the television or movie screen.