Charlize theron says support from 'twisters' stars at africa outreach project 2024 block party 'makes me wanna cry' (exclusive)

Charlize Theron is feeling grateful for the cast of _Twisters_. At the actress' nonprofit Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) 2024 Block Party on Saturday, July 13, Theron,

48, exclusively tells PEOPLE about how having the _Twisters _cast support her organization made her feel. "It makes me wanna cry," she says at the Universal Studio Backlot, which

hosted many guests including _Twisters _stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones — along with Powell's dog, Brisket. "It's one thing to feel this passionate about something.

It's another thing to have a community kind of behind [it] saying, 'I want to support that' and that's just... Yeah, it's really special." Theron also mentioned

the importance of outreach for the nonprofit and keeping "the narrative alive." "Yeah, the phone calls never stop," she says. "It's one of those jobs,

it's tough and it's also, you don't want to be gross about it, but it's important. It's important to kind of keep the narrative alive when people can't support

[it]. So yeah, you make phone calls for sure." NEVER MISS A STORY — SIGN UP FOR PEOPLE'S FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE BEST OF WHAT PEOPLE HAS TO OFFER​​, FROM

CELEBRITY NEWS TO COMPELLING HUMAN INTEREST STORIES.  Theron, who was born and raised in Benoni, South Africa, established the nonprofit in 2007 and has hosted the benefit for the past four

years. The CTAOP's goal is to create a more equitable future for the youth of Theron's home country. The nonprofit "supports locally-led community-based organizations that

work directly with young people and focus on sexual reproductive health and rights and/or the prevention of gender-based violence." In 2022, the CTAOP surpassed $10 million in grants to

Southern Africa, according to the nonprofit's website. The _Mad Max: Fury Road _star also told PEOPLE about how grateful she was to see her nonprofit's journey from its beginning

over 15 years ago. "I think longevity and anything that's this important is something to feel really good about because this is important work," she said. THE PEOPLE PUZZLER

CROSSWORD IS HERE! HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU SOLVE IT? PLAY NOW! "It's really important work. And the fact that we get to play a small part in that is something that we work really hard

at. We want to do it right," Theron continued. "We want to be of service as best we can to our community leaders that are on the ground in the trenches doing the work."

"So whatever we need to support them, we're happy to be able to do that for over 17 years." _Twisters_ premieres in theaters on Friday, July 17.