Death row convicts, Broadway theatre-goers and titans of American industry have combined with dozens of other groups making up America's diverse society to contribute more than $500 million (€541 million) to charitable organisations in the aftermath of the attacks on the twin towers.

In a country where volunteerism plays a greater social role than in most other democracies, the outpouring of cash has far exceeded the response to any previous disaster.

Never before has the desire to help been spread so widely to every section of society. Even prisoners on death row at California's San Quentin prison have passed round the hat for victims, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and prisoners in Sacramento raised $22,000.

Theatre-goers at The Producers, New York's most popular show, queue up nightly to put $20 bills into plastic buckets for the families of emergency personnel lost in the collapse of the twin towers. Michael Jordan announced yesterday as he returned to basketball that he would donate his first year's salary, $1 million, to the victims.

The aid has come in many forms. Ten of the sports utility vehicles used by rescue crews at "ground zero" were donated by BMW, as were 100 new police motorcycles. One of the biggest sources of cash was last Friday's two-hour telethon during which Hollywood stars performed and operated the telephones. It raised $150 million. In the eight days following September 11th, the American Red Cross raised $129 million, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Some $46 million of the Red Cross windfall was pledged through the internet, dwarfing all previous online fundraising efforts. The previous record was $2.7 million in 1999 for relief in Kosovo.