Nicole Richie & Joel Madden Celebrate Opening Of New Playground

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden celebrated the opening of the new playground they helped raise funds for at a low income housing project in downtown Los Angeles today (February 9).

"Over the past year, Joel and I have been working with Beyond Shelter, a non-profit organization devoted to providing shelter for homeless families in Los Angeles," the 28-year-old mother-of-two posted on her official website.

"When we first started coming here, there were no kids outside," Richie tells People. "To see the place come to life and have a place to come outside and be kids, and have their imaginations run wild, it's really awesome."

Nicole went on to describe their ongoing charitable efforts. "7-Eleven helped make today possible by donating $250,000 to the Richie-Madden foundation. In order to help, all you have to do is go to a 7-Eleven, buy our cup, fill it with any hot drink of your choice, and then the proceeds go to our foundation."

So did their two children - daughter Harlow, 2, and son Sparrow, 5 months - show up to support mom and dad? With hail and rainstorms sweeping over the city, the 2-year-old couldn't play at the new playground: "One raindrop, and she'd melt," joked Joel of their adorable daughter.

Joel went on to describe his passion to help others through the Richie-Madden foundation.

"The foundation is something really fun and important that we get to do together," the Good Charlotte rocker tells Tonic. "And I think it's important that our kids grow up around something. Some families have a family business, or a family store or whatever. We wanted to have something like that. We wanted to have a foundation that they're responsible for, that they have to be a part of — that they'll grow up with and it will just be something that they do, just like anything else that's expected of them, because that's what we do. That was the whole idea of it."

Prior to the devastating earthquake, Madden was already planning a trip to Haiti with Unicef. Now, he's even more anxious to go and do whatever he can to help the Haitian people — especially the children. "With Unicef, as much time as you want to put in they'll take it. It's great. I love it. Ever since I've had kids, I just can't walk away from kids. I just can't. It's hard to leave ‘em. It's hard to know that they're out there suffering. It's hard to go to sleep at night if you're not doing everything you possibly can."

"I could live with myself knowing I'm doing the most that I can, but I can do more," Madden adds. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do anything — short of moving out there and being the field. That's the thing. When people try to pat me on the back and try to congratulate me, I don't know how to take that, because I've been out there with doctors who graduated from Johns Hopkins who are living in tents among refugees, and that's what they do. Those are the people who deserve attention and being thanked. Don't look at me like I'm noble. There's nothing noble that I do! I have a conscience, a feeling like I need to do something. It's almost selfish — that I can't live with myself unless I'm helping these kids. But these people are giving their lives to save lives. Those are the people I admire the most. I'm just doing what I feel like I need to do."