Brangelina donates $500K to Joplin

JOPLIN, Missouri (AP) — Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (photo) are donating $500,000 from their foundation to help Joplin rebuild from the deadly tornado that struck the southwest Missouri town last month.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks says the gift from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation will go to mid- and long-term needs in the tornado-ravaged city. The Community Foundation announced the gift last week in a news release.

Pitt grew up in southwest Missouri and says in the release that he spent much of his childhood in the area and knows the people to be “especially resilient.”

The May 22 tornado destroyed more than 8,000 homes and 400 businesses. The death toll was 151 as of Friday, including several victims who died as a result of injuries suffered in the storm.