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SALT LAKE CITY - More than $81,000 was raised in a six-hour period Tuesday night for victims of the massive tornado in Moore, Okla.
KSL TV and the Red Cross teamed up in a telethon spanning the broadcast network's four evening newscasts, attracting financial support from 890 viewers who pledged a total of $81,889. Additional donations continued through the day Thursday directly to the Red Cross from KSL.com as part of the KSL Cares telethon.
"In times of crisis Utahns always rally to help their neighbors," said Tanya Vea, KSL executive vice president for news and cross platform development.
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Utahns ready to help tornado storm victims
Pastor Myke Crowder of the Christian Life Center in Layton and his son, Chris Crowder, plan to repeat the plea for donations and, in two weeks, travel to Moore, Okla., and distribute envelopes containing $500 to tornado victims who need cash to pay insurance premiums, to repair cars or have other immediate needs."Even when those people are thousands of miles away it still hits home for us. KSL is proud to be part of this incredible community and honored to be able to help make a difference for those impacted by this tragedy."
The American Red Cross representatives estimated “several million” dollars was donated via electronic text messages since the tornado devastated Moore on Monday, but the money is not specifically designated to relief efforts in Oklahoma. It goes to general disaster relief funding, some of which is being used in Oklahoma.
