A telethon to collect money for people affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma has raised more than £33 million. Celebrities including Oprah, Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Julia Roberts were among those to work the phones at the hour-long event on Monday night, helping to generate the large sum.
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George took donations over the phone
Stevie Wonder performed Lean on Me at the beginning of the telethon, and made a short speech, saying: "We come together today to love on people that have been devastated by the hurricanes. When love goes into action, it preferences no colour of skin, no ethnicity, no religious beliefs, no sexual preferences, and no political persuasions. It just loves. As we should begin to love and value our planet and anyone who believes that there is no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent."
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The star-studded event raised millions
During the show, Apple donated $5 million, Albertsons Cos gave $1 million and Merck also gave $1 million in aid. The event included a video message from Beyoncé, who returned to her home town of Houston to help out the people affected by Hurricane Harvey earlier this week. She said: "In my hometown city of Houston, people need food, clothing, cleaning supplies, blankets, shoes, diapers and formula for babies. And, of course, clean water. The elderly need wheelchairs and kids need books and toys so they can continue to dream. Natural disasters don't discriminate. They don't see if you're an immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy or poor. It doesn't matter if you're from Third Ward or River Oaks, we're all in this together."
