With her blond tresses framing her face, the lovely Christelle Harris leans in to share a bit about her latest passion — acting, which she’s pursuing in Los Angeles. But she’s also keen to talk about her other passion, the one she is more recognised for on The Rock — philanthropy.

The eldest of the third generation of the Hussey family, and the first in line among its heirs to add a new dimension to the family’s efforts, she is the shape of things to come.

The privileged 20-something beauty is not afraid to embrace her social conscience and, since her 25th birthday, when she opted to have guests donate cash in lieu of gifts, have been doing her charitable best to help the nation’s children.

Having assisted the Bustamante Hospital for Children in obtaining much-needed machinery, the former beauty queen ensured that her family’s stylish New Year’s Eve ‘do, hosted by her affable grandparents, Ruth and Laurie Hussey, at their classy Waterloo Road enclave Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel annually, was attached to a worthy cause.

“Funds received helped three schools: the Dumfries Basic School, the St Michael’s Early Childhood programme and the Cedric Titus High School,” she says, her smile widening as she pulls her hair from her face to tell SO what she’s been doing with the Trelawny-based institutions.

“My experience with poor rural communities has taught me that a lot of early childhood facilities or basic schools are set up in a church hall or a community centre,” Harris shares, marvelling at the schools’ uncanny abilities to “do so much with so little”.

“The children are so sweet and I want to do so much for them,” she adds, noting that her decision to help these institutions was influenced by their proximity to her family’s Everglades Farms Limited, which operates the Long Pond and Hamden estates.

Assisting these children, Harris believes, helps to contribute to sustainable development, as the whole community stands to benefit.

“Most of these children were raised around the sugar cane industry; either their parents or grandparents worked on the estates, so we’re directly helping to sustain a community with such rich history by providing better environments in which to educate them,” she notes.

Through her eponymous charity fund, Harris has presented Cedric Titus High School with a one million-dollar-plus cheque which will go towards purchasing classroom furniture, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

“I want to afford them an improved drainage system, bathrooms and a garbage holding area,” she tells SO, noting that other charities have aided the school in the past.

“I walk in and there’s this air-conditioned computer lab, fully equipped with Dell computers,” she says, smile always in place, “and that makes me feel good to know that I’m not alone… that others are helping.”

“It’s nice to know I’m adding on to something,” Harris adds.

As for the Dumfries school, the beauty plans to build a kitchen and provide extra storage space — an essential requirement, according to the Ministry of Education, for early childhood institutions.

“I feel if the school doesn’t get all these things it may have to close,” she said, “and that would just break my heart because the children are so precious and they would be the ones to suffer.”

Still, she is hopeful. She lauds the teachers’ various efforts and commitment to the students.

“Many of the teachers have been at the school for 22 years and they have done so much with the little they have.”

There’s talk, too of future projects: fencing, facelifts and reconfigurations that will certainly improve the facilities.

Catch Harris at the next fabulous fund-raiser.