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Celebrities are already using Twitter to support their favorite charities—Alyssa Milano raised more than $90,000 for clean water, Ashton Kutcher donated $100,000 to Malaria No More when he reached one million followers—but actresses Demi Moore and Nia Vardalos used the social media site on a more personal level last week when they saved a user from committing suicide.
When a stranger in Florida tweeted Moore (who, under her username @mrskutcher, is one of the site's most popular users) with the message, "I'm about to go hang myself from a tree outside my house and end my life. I have no reason to live anymore," the actress responded immediately with the message, "R U rlly asking for help?" Fellow follower Nia Vardalos saw the tweet and directed the man to call 1-800-SUICIDE for help. The hotline sent authorities to take the man to the hospital while Vardalos stayed in touch with the police, tweeting the next morning to her followers, "Just want to say thank u Twitter for caring about a stranger in FL last night."
Tonic adds that Moore's Twitter helped prevent a separate suicide last spring in a similar situation—and that she also uses the site to raise awareness for her nonprofit organization, DNA Foundation, which fights human trafficking. All of which shows just how powerful social media—in the right hands—can be.
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