[bryanthompson]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&u=/ap/20050104/ap_on_re_us/tsunami_americans_respond_1&printer=1

U.S.-based relief groups report an overwhelming response from donors moved by the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami, with more than $200 million raised as of Tuesday. One charity said online pledges were coming in at the rate of $100,000 an hour.
...
Numerous U.S. corporations have made large donations — including $10 million last week from Coca-Cola and $5 million Tuesday from Midland, Mich.-based Dow Chemical Co. The Connecticut-based relief group AmeriCares received $500,000 from The New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) Foundation.

Major drug companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb have been giving not only cash but also antibiotics, bandages, pain relievers, syringes and other supplies.

Celebrities also are pitching in. Bullock gave $1 million to the Red Cross, while Leonardo DiCaprio, who filmed "The Beach" on a Thai island in the tsunami zone, set up a link on his Web site for relief donations. Singer Willie Nelson agreed to headline a benefit concert Sunday in Austin, Texas.

In Ohio, the majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Carl Linder, and his son, Carl Linder III, provided $200,000 for a flight carrying 60,000 pounds of antibiotics, food and water for tsunami victims in India and Sri Lanka.

In Fargo, N.D., which was hit by the Red River flood in 1997, city officials agreed to give $10,000 of taxpayer money to tsunami relief.

Individuals, celebrities, towns, and even those 'evil drug companies' are donating money and services to help people on the other side of the world.

It's inspiring, to say the least.