Jolie-Pitt fund aids tornado town

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are donating $500,000 from their foundation to help Joplin rebuild after the deadly tornado which struck the south-west Missouri town last month.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks said the gift from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation will go towards mid- and long-term needs in the tornado-ravaged city.

Pitt grew up in south-west Missouri and says in a press release released by the Community Foundation that he spent much of his childhood in the area and knows the people to be “especially resilient”.

The May 22 tornado destroyed more than 8,000 homes and 400 businesses. The death toll was 151 as of yesterday, including several victims who died as a result of injuries suffered in the storm.