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The Associated Press highlighted the outpouring of support that the Ali Forney Center has received in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
The shelter for homeless LGBT youth in New York City (helmed by Instinct Leading Man Carl Siciliano) was devastated by the superstorm, but it appears that kindhearted souls (yes, there are a few of them out there!) around the world have come to the rescue in a big way.
More after the jump.
AP writes:
"A blogger picked up Siciliano's Facebook posting about damage to the center, and it quickly went viral, tweeted to hundreds of thousands of followers by actors Pam Grier and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In the first three days, the center received almost 1,000 donations totaling more than $100,000. That total has grown to more than $250,000 — and counting — with contributions coming from around the world, including England, France, Sweden, Canada and Mexico.
'This shows the power of social media, when prominent people link digitally with a healthy network of people who connect emotionally,' said Ryan Davis, a pioneer in using social media in politics and activism who is on Ali Forney's board.
About $400,000 is needed to replace what the center lost and prepare the Harlem site, which Siciliano hopes will be up and running by Christmas.
In the meantime, Ali Forney services have been temporarily set up at a nearby community center."
While it's unfortunate that these types of donations are triggered by a natural disaster rather than, say, a general everyday desire to make sure LGBT youth aren't living on the street we know that those getting a warm bed appreciate the support.
Let's show them some more, shall we? Head here to donate!
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And what a great thing he's doing.