The “Idol Gives Back” special television event airs tomorrow – Wednesday, April 21st at 8/7c on FOX – but you don’t have to wait until then to give back!

One of the many ways fans are contributing is through the “Help Me Give Back” program using Blackbaud’s Friends Asking Friends® and Charity Dynamics Boundless Fundraising™ for Facebook. The “Help Me Give Back” program was designed to empower individuals and teams to raise money for “Idol Gives Back” at www.americanidol.com/idolgivesback in support of this year’s beneficiaries, including The Children's Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children, and United Nations Foundation. Fans have a choice of joining a team, or starting their own individual or team fundraising page.

And, in true American Idol form, the fans have shown up:

• Five-year-old Kyleigh Buelow has raised $2105 in support of Idol Gives Back. Her reason? “I found a way that I can help make the difference in the lives of children even though I am a child myself. I am trying to raise money for American Idol Gives Back by donating my hair (at least 10”) to Locks of Love.”
  
  
• Gina Sutherlin, a gifted education teacher at West Wortham School on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, launched a fundraising effort to coincide with a class project on music through the decades, but had an even deeper reason for participating. “After Katrina, American Idol along with so many others opened up their hearts and wallets to help the people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast rebuild their lives. It is my hope that this experience will not only provide our students with a life lesson, but also present an opportunity for our communities to give back as well.”
  
  
•  Adam Fans Give Back is leading the race for the team pages at $9350 raised and Team Bon Bon Gives Back has already surpassed its goal in honor of Season 9 contestant Siobhan Magnus.

On tomorrow’s show, the leading individual fundraisers and the leading teams will be spotlighted and some may even find themselves being invited to a future American Idol. Even though the “Help Me Give Back” program ends tonight, during tomorrow’s broadcast, viewers will be able to make donations via toll-free lines, text messages and online to support the Idol Gives Back Foundation ("IGBF") and its beneficiaries.

So, how are you harnessing the power of your fans?

Read more about Idol Gives Back:

•  Idol's Elliott Yamin on Idol Gives Back
•  Ellen DeGeneres and David Arquette team up, give back, help feed...
•  'American Idol:' Idol Gives Back
• Former 'American Idol' Finalists 'Give Back'