国际英语资讯:Former U.S. presidents hurricane relief concert raises over 2.6 mln USD

HOUSTON, Oct. 24 -- Over 2.6 million U.S. dollars have been raised during a charity concert attended by the five living former U.S. presidents, the spokesperson for George H.W. Bush office said Tuesday.

The concert was attended by the five former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. It was the first time the presidents reunited in four years.

All five living former presidents appeared together on stage at the "One America Appeal" fundraiser at the Texas A&M University in College Station, about 140 km northwest of Houston.

Jim Grath, the spokesman, said that the concert has raised 1.5 million dollars through its website, another 100,000 dollars through Facebook, and 75,000 dollars through Text To Donate courtesy of AT&T.

Ticket sales for the concert raised another 970,000 dollars for hurricane recovery thanks to underwriting that covered all event expenses.

Sitting President Donald Trump did not attend the event. Instead, he sent a video message thanking the former presidents for their efforts in helping with hurricane relief.

The event was originally aimed at raising funds for victims of Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25 and killed more than 80 people.

It was later expanded to help those affected by subsequent Hurricane Irma that battered the southern state of Florida and Hurricane Maria that thrashed Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.