Zac Efron. Millions know him as a heartthrob actor, singer and dancer-extraordinaire, but evidently, he’s a pretty nice guy, too.
Efron was walking past Covenant House’s crisis shelter last week in Vancouver with actress girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens, when he struck up a conversation with a young man at the shelter.
“He was quite genuinely interested,” said Michelle Clausius, the group’s associate communications director.
The youth — who was unavailable for an interview — asked for an autograph, but Efron didn’t have anything to sign with and the two parted ways.
The next day, said Clausius, Efron’s assistant dropped off a signed photo for the youth at Covenant House’s front desk.
“There was a genuine quality to it,” she said. “It was encouraging … It was really respectful and compassionate.”
Even the smallest act of acknowledgment makes a big difference to the young people at Covenant House, Clausius said. “… There’s real heartbreak and trauma in the lives of these people.”