Lady Gaga announced on her Little Monsters website today that she and her family are donating $1 million to New York and the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief. "If it wasn't for NYC: the Lower Eastside, Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn, I would not be the woman or artist that I am today," she wrote of her hometown. "New York is relentless ambition, a drive to succeed, a place where there is a natural pursuit of diversity through compassion . . . Thank you for helping me build my spirit. I will now help you rebuild yours."

Gaga's donation follows the $23 million raised for the Red Cross by Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Billy Joel and others in NBC's "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together" telethon last week.

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