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'Hand in Hand' telethon raises more than $44 million for hurricane survivors

6 years 6 months 2 weeks ago Wednesday, September 13 2017 Sep 13, 2017 September 13, 2017 7:04 AM September 13, 2017 in News
Source: ABC
By: ABC News
Photo: ABC News

A group of A-list celebrities came together on Monday to participate in the Hand in Hand telethon to raise money for those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The relief benefit raised more than $44 million.

Stephen Colbert announced that Apple was donating $5 million and Jimmy Fallon added that Albertsons Cos. and Merck each gave $1 million.

NBA star Chris Paul also said that the NBA Players Association, which donated $500,000, would match any professional basketball player's donation up to $20,000.

Celebrities such as  Kerry Washington, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Oprah Winfrey, Cher and Justin Timberlake told stories of those who were directly impacted by the hurricanes. There were also performances from locations around the country.

Answering phones during the telethon was Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Bruce Willis, Sofia Vergara, Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, among others.

Originally, the Hand in Hand telethon was meant to benefit the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. It was later expanded to include those affected by Irma, which hit the southeast this weekend.

It has been estimated that the storms caused between $150 billion and $290 billion in damage. 

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