The day after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, OneRepublic wanted to help the 26 families affected by the tragedy.

The band put out a video plea to their fans and fellow musicians asking them to dig into their pockets and give a few dollars.

“After tragedies like this there are all kinds of things people can do, prayers, concerts, charities…there’s all these things that could take place over the last few months that might not come to pass,” frontman Ryan Tedder said. “The one thing we can do immediately is donate money to these families.”

Tedder explains that these families will need to grieve and many will be unable to go to work while they process what has happened.

“The last thing any of them should be worrying about is money,” he said.

The guys of OneRepublic are asking fans to give whatever they can, whether it be $5, $50 or $500.

Since starting the fundraiser, 413 people–including the band who gave $20,000– have helped them reach their initial goal of $50,000. As of today (December 18), they’ve raised over $70,000 with 28 days still left in their online fundraising campaign.

Stars like Adam Levine, Nashville’s Hayden Panettiere, Lady Antebellum and Enrique Iglesias have also tweeted in support of the campaign, asking their fans to help the cause.

Go here to donate to the Sandy Hook fund.

- Shannon Carlin, CBS Local