It wasn’t that long ago that Sally Struthers (through first the Christian Children’s Fund and then Save the Children) seemed on a one-woman campaign to save kids lives. Today, saving children is becoming part of the mainstream.From Angelina Jolie’s first adoption in Cambodia and Meg Ryan’s adoption in China, to Madonna’s in-progress adoption from Malawi and Mariah Carey’s recent jaunt to orphanages in Mexico, the recent spate of celebrity adoptions, though criticized by many, have been a powerful catalyst in bringing attention to the plight of children in all corners of the world.

Estimates vary, but it is guesstimated that there are between 16 and 34 million “double orphans” (both parents have died) in the world. Many of these children are in sub-Saharan Africa, and the majority are dubbed “AIDS Orphans”, (to be clear, most of these children do not have AIDS, though some were born with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS). These children are the innocent victims of a broken system — one in which their parents didn’t have adequate access to education, health care, clean water, food and jobs. It left them parentless and without much hope.

Thirty years ago, when Struthers started her work on behalf of children through The Christain Children’s Fund, she was pretty much a lone ranger on a very, very vast plain. But now, according to a 2007 report by the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are over 17,000 registered charities in the US with a declared focus of Youth Development (NTEE Category O). It’s a staggering figure, and doesn’t even include those charities focused primarily on child health and education. Clearly Sally is no longer riding alone.

To me, if you take this growth in the non-profit sector, the recent 2.7% increase in charitable giving (according to Charity Navigator) and combine it with the legions of celebrities lending their voices, faces, money and families to save children, end poverty, cure AIDS, you can see striking evidence that we are entering The Social Age.

In The Social Age, people who “have” are no longer content or comfortable with standing by as the “have nots” suffer. Their involvement has evolved from giving their money, to giving their time, to giving themselves. Celebrities have the ability to expose regular Joe’s like you and me to the spots of greatest needs in the world. Through organizations like UNICEF, ONE Campaign, Save the Children and OXFAM, children around the world are finally getting the attention they are due.

But it’s not just the celebrities that are getting involved. Here at home, Teach For America and CityYear are just two of the outstanding organizations providing service opportunities for youth to help youth. Here at home school districts have banned junk food. And here at home, high school students are required to do community service. This was unimaginable when I was a kid.

So it seems that in The Social Age, we value our children. And perhaps even more importantly, we value the children of others. For when they can’t take care of their own, we can provide a safety net – at least for some of them.

So I say to Angelina, Meg, Madonna and Mariah, adopt away! You’re setting a great example and the more kids we can reach, the better. And the more we can keep these children of the adoption-diaspora connected with their home countries, the even more hopeful we can be about the future, and accelerate the impact of The Social Age.