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Former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel is giving back to the community that made her famous by donating $50,000 to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Bethenny -- who recently launched her own talk show -- made the donation to inspire others across the world to also provide help to those affected by the devastating storm, a source close to the star confirmed to ET. 

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The Skinnygirl Cocktails company founded by Bethenny also pledged to match her $50,000 donation to the Red Cross. In addition, Skinnygirl Daily shipped out 5,000 of its On-the-Go nutrition bars (valued at $10,000) to New Jersey storm victims.

Frankel, 41 -- who lives in NYC with her husband Jason Hoppy and daughter Bryn, 2 -- shared her feelings on Sandy via Twitter on Tuesday. "We just woke up. So sad about all of the terrible deaths and tragedies," she wrote. "Love and prayers to your families. Is hurricane sandy over?"

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