Family Life

01.27.10 | FL News Team

Cash-strapped Americans have not held back in giving to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. According to the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, pledges and donations to U.S. nonprofits have soared to more than 500-million dollars since the Caribbean island nation was shaken by the magnitude-seven quake two weeks ago. "The Washington Times" reports that the half-billion dollars in donations for Haitian relief surpasses the total given by Americans to victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Haiti's close proximity to the United States and a swelling Haitian-American population here has helped. One of the biggest fundraisers was last Friday's "Hope for Haiti" telethon. The star-studded event has so far raised 61-million dollars. While celebrity-supported events garner the most attention and money, small donations from school children to common, everyday Americans have resulted in an enormous outpouring of money for the Haitian people.