Los Angeles - Celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated 1 million dollars to help children affected by the Iraq war, their charitable foundation announced Wednesday. The Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave 500,000 dollars to three groups in Iraq to provide aid for some 5,700 children, according to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which is co-chaired by Jolie.
"This generous donation will help restore vital education services for Iraqi children whose schooling was disrupted by ongoing violence," said George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee, which helps children in southern Iraq and received 200,000 dollars.
The grant will help pay for school rehabilitation programmes as well as educational necessities such as books and supplies.
"These educational support programmes for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal," said Jolie in announcing the donation.
The foundation gave an additional 500,000 dollars to the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Programme, a US organization that helps children who have a military parent killed in Iraq, or who are separated from a parent stationed in the country.
Pitt, 44, and Jolie, 33, are among the highest-profile philanthropists in Hollywood. In addition to donating millions of dollars various causes, Jolie serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Pitt is a leading advocate for relief in the Darfur region and for victims of Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast.
