Stars Hope to Set Example With Big Donations to Help Tsunami Victims

Steven Spielberg, the Hollywood producer, who makes most of his philanthropic contributions anonymously, broke

that tradition by announcing soon after the Asian tsunamis that his family had contributed a total of $1.5-million to CARE, Oxfam, and Save the Children. Mr. Spielberg said he hoped that his public gesture would encourage others to give.

Many other celebrities, including professional athletes, musicians, and actors, have also rushed to make donations and hold fund-raising benefits to encourage people around the world to support the relief efforts.

Michael Schumacher, the German race-car driver, pledged $10-million to relief groups, in part to pay tribute to one of his bodyguards, who died in the tsunamis. The actress Sandra Bullock gave $1-million to the American Red Cross, her second gift of that size to the organization, while the Internet trailer to her new film, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, directs viewers to charities that are helping in the tsunami-relief effort.

Celebrities are also lending their names — and some of their favorite items — to online auctions that will benefit relief groups. The magazine Us Weekly is planning to use eBay to sell items donated by the actor Bruce Willis and the musicians P. Diddy and Motley Crue, among others, to support Save the Children’s Asian Disaster Fund. The charity Clothes Off Our Back, founded in 2002 by the actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford, will hold an online auction of the apparel worn by celebrities to last weekend’s Golden Globe Awards. The organization, which normally gives to children’s causes, hopes to raise more than $100,000 for Unicef.

Dollars for Points

Sports stars are also raising money for Unicef. Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, and Tracy McGrady were among seven professional basketball players who donated $1,000 for every point they scored in a single game, helping to raise $212,000 for Unicef.

The SFX Sports Agency, which organized the event, said the players hoped their actions would inspire basketball fans to give. The Portland Trail Blazers have paired with Mercy Corps raise money for relief, while the Washington Wizards sold “tsunami relief bands” in behalf of Unicef.

NBC announced just days after the disaster that it would hold a fund-raising telethon featuring Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, and many other stars, while the music group Linkin Park formed a foundation, Music for Relief, and donated $100,000 in hopes that fellow musicians and fans would follow suit.

Willie Nelson, the country singer, appeared at a concert on January 9 that brought in more than $105,000. Michael Hall, a musician and writer for Texas Monthly who organized the event, said, “I thought we would get a club with a 1,000 capacity anddo your $5,000 benefit, but it just took off.” The Austin Music Hall’s 2,700 tickets sold out in seven hours, and a phonathon helped to raise additional money. Mr. Hall said that the concert capitalized on many celebrities’ desire to “do something more than sending a check.”

Charity officials said that donations were coming from a mix of new and first-time supporters. “We’ve had long-standing relationships with celebrities, but there are also new people coming forward,” said Julie Whitmer, director of celebrity and relationship outreach at the Red Cross. Whether stars who write a check for the South Asia disaster will stay in touch with the organizations is an open question.

“That is our hope,” said Ms. Whitmer.