Just over three years ago, New Yorkers received an outpouring of support from around the world as they struggled to rebuild their lives and their communities following the devastating events of September 11, 2001. Now, as hundreds of thousands of people fight an uphill battle to recover from the tsunami disaster in South Asia, people from across the Greater New York area are opening their hearts - and wallets - to help the people affected by this tragedy.

These helpful citizens come in all sizes, from all neighborhoods, and represent a variety of age groups and careers. Their donations range from the coins that fit into a child's piggy bank to generous checks bulging with zeros. As New Yorkers, each of these special contributors knows how important this type of support is following a life-altering disaster.

The American Red Cross in Greater New York is honored to be able to collect and distribute funds to help with tsunami relief efforts. During the past month, we've encountered many special donors who particularly tugged at our hearts.

A few of their stories follow:

• A seven-year old boy brought his piggy bank and $40 of his Christmas money in to donate to the Red Cross. When asked why he chose to donate his money to the tsunami victims, he simply replied: "They looked like they needed it more than I do."
  
  
• A group of police officers from the Bronx walked into our offices on New Year's Eve and contributed $2,300 to the relief effort. Sergeant Chris Motello told the Red Cross that he was at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001 and saw how the organization helped New Yorkers following the tragedy. "All of us at the precinct wanted to do something to help the Red Cross help others," he said. "We decided to collect money to donate to tsunami relief."
  
  
• An 80-year-old man walked two miles from his home to the Red Cross to drop off his donation
  
  
• Two European tourists made time during their New York tour to come by the Red Cross and donate $100 of their holiday money
  
  
• A hairdresser in Staten Island offered to donate 30% of his proceeds from each haircut toward American Red Cross tsunami relief
  
  
• Joe's Pub, a well-known downtown nightspot, pulled together a multi-act benefit performance featuring hip-hop and world music with all proceeds going to tsunami relief
  
  
• Several of New York's top nightlife promoters hosted "One Family", a thumping dance party fundraiser at Spirit that was attended by hundreds of people and benefited the International Response Fund
  
  
• Fifth-graders from P.S. 87 in Manhattan raised $750 for tsunami relief through school bake sales. Fifth-grader Anthony Hagouel, who baked and brought in vanilla cakes to sell, said: "I felt happy because I knew that we were helping people. I thought that a disaster like this could only happen every 100 years or so and it was up to us to help these people out."
  
  
• The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), which has been collecting donations to provide relief for victims of the tsunami disaster, and Sing Tao Daily, which has been conducting its own fund-raising drive, jointly presented checks totaling more than $800,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at a ceremony at CCBA headquarters in Chinatown