Yesterday, more than $1.1 million was raised for the Flint Child Health & Development Fund through a statewide telethon.

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, the FlintNOW Foundation and WDIV-TV made the announcement.

The "Flint Water Crisis: 4 Our Families" telethon aired from 6AM to 8PM in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan. The event drew more than 1,500 donations totaling $566,982.

A pledge from Gores to match the funds raised pushed the final total to $1,133,964.

"Days like today show the power of bringing people together to rally behind a community in need," said Gores. "It also sends the people of Flint an important message of hope. There is a lot more we need to do, but we are in this for the long haul and we will help turn things around."

Gores, who launched FlintNOW to help rally private sector support for Flint, said he's proud of the way individual donors and companies stepped up to the challenge. Corporate donors included: Meijer - $25,000, Bank of America Merrill Lynch - $20,000 and Kroger - $10,000.

According to Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, founding donor of the Flint Child Health & Development Fund, an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 Flint children have been exposed to lead in the water.

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