Nigel Lythgoe not only wants to help ordinary people become stars through the power of reality TV, but he’s also asking Hollywood to join him in changing the situation for poor children in Los Angeles.

The So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) judge took out a full page ad in entertainment trade paper The Daily Variety on Monday to call attention to the need for assistance right in the entertainment industry’s backyard.

According to Contact Music, the advertisement promotes an event sponsored by Lithgoe and LA’s Best Afterschool Program.  On December 14, children from the LA’s Best program will take the stage at the Kodak Theater with contestants from SYTYCD and American Idol to “deliver the message that gang violence in the Los Angeles neighborhoods — and children living in fear — should be a thing of the past.”

Lythgoe’s ad says, “remember those wise words ‘charity begins at home’,” particularly when it comes to “violence, starvation and illiteracy” among L.A.’s youth.  “This country and this town in particular have been so good to me… L.A. is a divided city. There is one side, where people from all over the world can come together creatively and fulfill their dreams. Yet, there is this other side of L.A., the darker side. All proceeds from this event will go to L.A.’s BEST. Your support will make an enormous difference for thousands of children who, without LA’s BEST, would be on the streets. If we can change the lives of children… then we can change the darker side of L.A.”

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