As we continue on our Access Across America tour, it has become abundantly clear that all of America is searching for ways to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The nation has been glued to the coverage of the devastation and the sorrow caused by the storm. And every time you turn on the TV, it's hard to escape it.
"Right now New Orleans is drowning," reported "Good Morning America."
"The death toll is rising…" proclaimed the "Today" show.
And as the extent of the devastation begins to become prevalent, Hollywood is also reaching out. And for some celebrities, the damage hits close to home.
"With a show like 'Desperate Housewives,' one of the benefits is you get to turn it into charity things," James Denton told Access Hollywood. "We've been doing it all along. But now, this one is staring us in the face because it's so immediate."
Southern boy Denton wants to put some "Desperate" star power behind a good cause. "My whole family is from the south. They're in Tennessee so all they got was a lot of heavy rain and floods, but everybody in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, we sent out some emails personally to see if there was anything we could do charity-wise," he added.
Kentwood, Louisiana native Britney Spears sent her prayers out to the victims of Katrina on her website and reassured her fans that all of her own family members were safe.
Paul Anka crooned for the victims of Katrina on "Good Morning America" and R&B legend Patti LaBelle is lending a helping hand too. "I have spoke to a friend of mine. Actually, she was my background singer and she lives in New Orleans," LaBelle said. "I gave her a home today. I told her to move in with me because everything she ever thought of is gone."
On Wednesday night, New York's WNBC will host a live one-hour fund drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross, and they have also gotten some star power to aid their efforts.
"Matt Damon is going to be helping. Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt and Ellen DeGeneres who's from New Orleans is going to be helping us out," WNBC anchor Perri Peltz told us.
In Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has also teamed up with the Red Cross, giving away a free pair of tickets to the first 500 people who showed up at the stadium on Wednesday with donations to the Hurricane 2005 relief fund.
On ESPN's "SportsCenter" Tuesday, a Houston news reporter connected Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre (a Mississippi native) to his mom for the first time since Katrina hit.
"My mom, two brothers, their families, my grandmother, my aunt and my uncle are all in a like a 25-square foot house with no power and a tree on top of it," Favre told the media.
His mom rode out the storm in Kiln, Mississippi in an attic with some of Brett's family when their home filled with water. Ironically, Brett's 1997 Super Bowl win — one of his proudest moments — came in the New Orleans Superdome.Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman has helped organize an online auction to raise funds for disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The auction, which also includes corporate-donated items, will open Friday on the Charity Folks Web site, an online auction venue, and run until Sept. 16, it was announced Wednesday.
Items include the opportunity to attend a screening of Freeman's upcoming film, "An Unfinished Life," a resort getaway and memorabilia packages from various movies.
Proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell will do her part on Wednesday night by appearing on a hurricane telethon hosted by Miami's WTVJ. And on September 2 at 8 p.m. on NBC, Matt Lauer will host "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," with performances by Tim McGraw and Harry Connick, Jr.
For information on you can help hurricane relief efforts, visit the American Red Cross web site.