A growing number of athletes, musicians, and Hollywood luminaries are opening their wallets to survivors of the tsunami disaster, Reuters reports.

Among the high-profile celebrities who have stepped forward are director Steven Spielberg and his family, who donated $1.5 million to be split equally among Save the Children, CARE, and Oxfam; actress Sandra Bullock, who gave $1 million to the American Red Cross; and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who pledged a "sizable" contribution to UNICEF for its work in Thailand, where his 2000 movie The Beach was filmed.

In addition, NBC and its cable networks, USA, Bravo, Trio, the Sci-Fi Channel, MSNBC, and CNBC, plan to broadcast a benefit special from Los Angeles on January 15 featuring celebrities and musical performances by Christina Aguilera, Tim McGraw, and Sheryl Crow, among others. Hoping to repeat the success of the Tribute to Heroes telethon, a two-hour special aired by the four major television networks after the 9/11 attacks that raised more than $150 million, the hour-long program will be shown live on the East Coast (with a tape delay in the West) and will feature call-in donation lines. Clear Channel Communications has agreed to promote the event through its chain of radio stations, the nation's largest.

Other musicians organizing efforts to raise funds for the relief and recovery effort include punk-rap group Linkin Park, which performed to sold-out stadium crowds in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malayasia earlier this year and, with the American Red Cross, has started Music for Relief with a $100,000 donation. Elsewhere, country musician Willie Nelson will headline a benefit concert in Austin, Texas, featuring the likes of Patty Griffin, Spoon, Joe Ely, and the Geezinslaws, with proceeds benefiting the Red Cross, UNICEF, and Doctors Without Borders.

And the sports world is well represented by seven-time Formula One racing champion Michael Schumacher, who has announced a pledge of $10 million, the single largest private donation to the unprecedented relief effort.