Nicole Richie Is Every Inch The Charitable Diva?

Who would have thought! The spoiled brat that used to be Nicole Richie actually has charitable instincts. It seems that having a baby has warmed up Nicole's heart to the point where she decided to help out mothers in need by setting up her own charity organization. Nicole and her boyfriend and baby daddy Joel Madden have started their own children's charity - the Richie Madden Children's Foundation for mothers in need.

The couple are expecting their first baby and are holding a baby shower at their home in Los Angeles this Sunday. Instead of receiving gifts, they have asked friends and family to donate baby accessories to their charity. A source said: "Nicole and Joel has asked friends to give cribs, strollers and stuffed animals to their foundation". Well, that sounds great - and maybe it's true that being busted for DUI and publicly humiliated by the scandal did a little good to Nicole and taught her a few things. Or maybe it's all just one big publicity stunt - although I hope it's not. Next month, the couple's charity is also set to donate 100 'Mom-to-Be kits' to the Los Angeles Free Clinic.

I have no idea if I should be praising Nicole for her initiative, praising her PR agent or whether I should be saying "we should all hold her as an example". It's pretty confusing to see a former Hollywood bad-ass, a woman known to be superficial, even cruel sometimes and wondering the town in Paris Hilton's company, suddenly act like a normal, responsible, even caring and compassionate human being. It's like seeing Britney taking her kids to Disneyland and going off the drugs. It's a crazy, crazy world.

Nicole, 26, is six months pregnant but does not yet know the sex of her baby. Joel, 28, recently said: "We are waiting to find out if it is a boy or a girl. We don't even know. So right now it's an 'it', which sounds wrong. We call it 'the baby'. When we talk to it, it's 'you'. I'm excited. It's the best thing that has ever happened to us. It's awesome. The baby has started kicking and I've already gone out and bought a
stroller and a playpen for the nursery".