It’s good to see that even in an economic downturn, some celebrities continue to give big. In Brad Pitt’s case, the actor is steadfast as ever in supporting green building initiatives. This time — not in New Orleans — but in his childhood city of Springfield, Missouri.

Brad and his brother Doug banded together to donate $600K so that Drury University could take their planned new 65,000-square-foot sporting arena from a minimum Silver Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design (LEED) certification to a Gold. This would make it the first sporting arena in the nation with such green credentials. In return, Drury has honored such generosity by deciding to rename the court of the arena after Brad and Doug’s father, William A. Pitt.

According to sources, the building now features “low-flow water fixtures, a dedicated recycling area and a solar-reflective roof and pavement materials”. We imagine there’s also a bit more — since I don’t believe these features alone would be enough to qualify for Gold LEED. But kudos to Brad and Doug for giving back and making this arena even greener than what was planned!

For a computer-generated fly-through of the new arena, hit the fold below:

via Earthfirst

“Says Doug, ‘The idea was to help kids that show up on a school day with an immediate need. We need to get to them quick, obviously. So we set up this fund to do just that. Last week, we had a kid need clothes and food. And within 20 minutes – from the phone call – counselors, teachers, principals, make a call to the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools. And they’re on it. They now have the funds to address that urgent need.’”

The fund is exclusively setup for the moment to address the needs of Springfield Public Schools only — but we imagine if it takes off there, that more districts will one day participate. For more information, please visit the Care to Learn Fund website. Check out a video of Doug Pitt unveiling the new initiative below: