Lady Gaga boosts Japan relief funds at Zynga

SAN FRANCISCO—Efforts by social game star Zynga and the American Red Cross to raise money for relief efforts in Japan got a $1.5-million boost on Monday from pop diva Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga, whose birth name is Stefani Germanotta, raised the money by selling “We pray for Japan” plastic wristbands at her ladygaga.com website.

“I’m inspired that my little monsters banded together to help those affected by the terrible tragedy,” Lady Gaga said in a release. “What Zynga’s players have done for the cause is equally inspiring.”

Lady Gaga is on a “Monster Ball” concert tour and refers to her fans as her “little monsters.”

Zynga players have raised more than $2.5 million in the past two weeks through charitable purchases of virtual goods in online games including FarmVille, Cafe World, CityVille, and Zynga Poker.

The money from Lady Gaga raised to more than $3 million the amount of money Zynga is routing to a Japan Earthquake Tsunami fund being overseen by Save the Children.

“We’ve seen our players show tremendous generosity when presented with opportunities to give back,” said Zynga founder Mark Pincus.

“We’re very happy that Lady Gaga has chosen to donate to our fundraising efforts and hope our players take pride in what they’ve accomplished.”

San Francisco-based Zynga has made raising money for charity a part of play in its games since the company launched in 2009.

A website devoted to the startup’s Japan fund is online at https://www.savethechildren.org/japanzynga.