The Stars Come Out for Sandy Relief and Recovery

Superstorm Sandy's devastating impact on the East Coast resulted in the loss of more than a hundred lives, thousands being displaced from their homes, power outages that affected millions, and crippling disruptions of the region’s mass transit systems. The estimated financial cost of the storm may exceed $50 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

In the aftermath of a disaster like Sandy, it's not unusual to see celebrities donating their time and money to relief and recovery efforts, and this disaster is no different. According to the most recent edition of the Foundation Center's Celebrity Foundation Directory, total giving by celebrity foundations exceeds $15 billion. As the center continues to track the response to Sandy, we're again seeing celebrities step up to donate their money and talents to help those affected by the storm. Here are a few examples:

New Jersey natives Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen joined Jon Stewart, Christine Aguilera, Sting, and Jimmy Fallon on Friday, November 2, for "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together," a live one-hour telethon that raised $23 million for relief and recovery efforts.

In addition to the NFL's New York Giants donating $500,000 to Sandy relief and recovery efforts, a number of Giants players helped out by distributing food in the hard-hit community of Seaside Heights, while others spent an afternoon making sandwiches at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. Star quarterback Eli Manning traveled to Staten Island to help out with Red Cross relief efforts there.

The cast of MTV's popular series Jersey Shore will reunite for a "Restore the Shore" fundraiser, to be aired on the cable network later this month.

Celebrities who have announced cash donations to relief and recovery efforts include pop megastar Lady Gaga ($1 million); Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban ($1 million); Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade ($210,000) and Green Bay Packers star Charles Woodson ($100,000); television personalities Barbara Walters ($250,000), Chelsea Handler ($100,000), Bettheny Frankel ($50,000), and Simon Cowell ($25,000); network news anchor George Stephanopoulos ($50,000); Craigslist founder Craig Newmark ($25,000); and Virginia governor Bob McDonnell ($50,000).

It will take months, if not years, for some neighborhoods and communities to fully recover. In the meantime, we'll continue to track celebrities who are donating their time and resources to help those affected by Sandy. If you come across newsworthy celebrity relief efforts please share them with us in the comment section below.

And to learn more about the response by companies, nonprofit organizations, and grantmakers, visit the our RSS feed of Hurricane Sandy Grants, which to date has shared information on 181 grants totaling more than $110 million.

(Photo: Julio Cortez/AP)

-- Elia S. Glenn and Joey W. Guastella, co-editors, The Celebrity Foundation Directory