WASHINGTON–Lea Salonga, who won a Tony award for her role in “Miss Saigon,” used her star power in helping raise over $19,000 for typhoon relief fund in the Philippines, following the devastation brought by two super-typhoons.

The amount was raised at two events on October 13 here. One was a community mass, organized by the embassy with the community, held at the Saint Matthew’s Cathedral in this nation’s capital.

The other was a donors’ reception held at the residence of Ambassador Willy C. Gaa. Covington and Burling representative Martin Gold handed Gaa a check for $10,000. The George Washington University Hospital Women’s Board gave $1,000.

Lea sang Ama Namin (“Our Father”) during the mass, attended by some 400 Filipino American community members. She thanked the members of the community across the nation, as well as others around the world, for their generosity. “Much has been done, a lot of money has been raised, but there’s still much more that needs to be done,” she said.

Gaa thanked Lea, who called the embassy “volunteering to do some events.” He also thanked the community across the country. In an interview, he also welcomed an upcoming congressional resolution in the 111th U.S. Congress for more typhoon-related U.S. assistance. Rep. Jackie Speier (D, CA) is introducing H.R. 800. California, some 3,000 miles from here, is home to over half of the approximately 4 million people of Philippine ancestry in the U.S.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter enlisting fellow lawmakers as co-sponsors, Congresswoman Speier noted the Philippines suffered “$4.8 billion in damages, affecting more than 3 million Filipinos, killing at least 300 and continuing to impact the region.”

In all, over $100,000 has been raised by the community under the jurisdiction of the embassy. Over half has been turned over to Philippine relief agencies and NGOs of choice by the donors and Filipino American associations.

The World Bank Group-IMF Fil-Am Staff Association has raised $40,000. IMF-WB will match the amount, under its Community Connections program.

The Filipino American Community of Central Virginia also announced it will match up to $10,000 donations under its continuing program. FAACV had earlier donated $5,000 to the Philippine National Red Cross.

Fund campaigns are on-going. The tally so far: Philippine American Foundation for Charities, Inc., $5,000; Feed the Hungry advanced $8,000 in relief aid to typhoon Ondoy victims; Philippine Nurses Association of America, over $4,000 to its partners in the Philippines; Ateneo Alumni Association of Metro Washington DC and the De La Salle Alumni Association, $3,000 each; UP Alumni Association in Maryland, DC and Virginia, $2,000; Maryland Coalition Help Philippines and Katipunan Maryland, over $4,000 in the Metro Baltimore area; Mission of Mercy Fil-Am Community of Hampton Road in Virginia, $3,000; and Travelers’ Association, $2,000;

The Filipino community in Georgia transmitted, through an honorary consulate, $3,485 in funds for the Red Cross. The ASEAN Ladies Circle had donated $1,500.