At 49, Melissa Joan Hart has spent her life giving back through community-fundraising and philanthropy, so it only makes sense that she has instilled that into her three sons: Mason, Braydon, and Tucker.
"Every chance I get, I take these boys volunteering," she tells HELLO! "From the time they were little we were serving at soup kitchens, or doing coat drives and the angel tree at church. I was in charge of our football team's outreach initiative for the last three years, and we would take these football players to serve the homeless, to pack food boxes for Middle Tennessee, or to serve at The Store, Brad Paisley and Kim Paisley's grocery store in Nashville."
Mason, 19, graduated in May 2024 and is now studying at an aeronautics school to become a pilot, while Braydon is 17 and a football player for his high school, and 13-year-old Tucker, who is a musician.
Melissa has partnered with WorldVision for the last few years and calls the work 'life-changing". It has also impacted how they spend the holidays, with Melissa sharing that for Christmas 2025 she and husband Mark Wilkerson will be "simplifying" their calendar, including cutting back on the guest list for their annual ugly sweater party and being more considerate about where they spend their money.
"We always spend Christmas in Lake Tahoe, our favorite place," she says; Lake Tahoe straddles the border of California and Nevada. "We like to be in the snow and in the mountains. It's our little sanctuary – and that's the only home my boys have known their whole lives. My husband and I bought that house when we first got engaged, and it's the only one that's stuck with us all these years. It's our safe place, and our happy place".
"But this year we are definitely simplifying Christmas. We're cutting back on our guest list for our ugly sweater party, and on our Christmas card list this year. We're trying to make it more about moments and connection instead. I want to wrap all the presents myself."
The Sabrina The Teenage Witch star believes it's important to make sure her children are aware of how "blessed" they are compared to other children, and in 2019 she visited Zambia with her eldest son, Mason. In 2023 they returned and she took her three boys, where they saw firsthand how aid provides clean water, education, and sustainable income for communities; they also sponsored three girls. "We have three boys, and we said, 'Every boy needs a sister!'' said Melissa.
Melissa was raised outside of New York City, and as a young girl she would take part in the Giving Tree at her church, and would discuss with her sisters how they could help the unhoused that they would see on the streets in the city, and work through the programs that would be needed.
When she moved to Los Angeles for Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Melissa found herself "locked into the LA charities," including the LA Mission.
"We didn't have it right at 10-years-old, but I always wanted to be a part of it, and I hope I've passed that down to my boys by getting them out there and letting them see the face of homelessness and not being afraid of people that are different and understanding that everyone has a story," said Melissa.
The mom-of-three is also a prominent gun safety advocate who has been strongly supporting stricter gun laws across the country, and in 2023, she told HELLO! that she is raising her boys to value equality for all.
"I'm a little bit nervous about the world that we're raising [our boys] in right now," she said at the time. "If women want to be equal, do you have to hold the door for them? Yes, it's polite. Give them your coat when they're cold. I am teaching them to have basic manners and be kind to everybody but being especially gentle to girls, especially when it comes to dating and understanding that hearts break differently for everybody.
"As far as raising them, they can see I am in the working world, and I have a really good work ethic. I’m trying to teach them to stay busy, to be a part of your community. I’m trying to make them well-rounded men."