Apple Gives $2.5 Million To Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts, Raises Additional “Millions” Via iTunes

Apple is donating $2.5 million to Hurricane Sandy relief, according to an internal staff email obtained by 9t05Mac this morning. The lump sum donation is in addition to the company’s collection of monetary support from iTunes customers and Apple employees. Apple’s iTunes donations pass on 100 percent of their value to relief efforts, and the company previously put up a donation link on its home page, which, as TheNextWeb points out, is number 23 in the ranking of the world’s most popular websites.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some updates on the progress of the existing iTunes-based campaign in his email, noting that “Apple employees and customers the world over have raised millions of dollars toward the relief effort so far,” but adding that “[Apple] can always do more.” Cook has already been noted for increasing Apple’s charitable donations during his tenure, something it hasn’t been known for in the past.

But the company has been known to use its massive iTunes user base to help out in times of need. Regarding its arrangement with the Red Cross around iTunes donations, Apple has used that mechanism to help out in previous disaster recovery efforts, like the tsunami and earthquake that devastated the east coast of Japan in 2011.