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"The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy's destruction of the Caribbean and northeastern United States is long from over. With thousands still without power, clean water and other basic essentials, people across the country are continuing to send in donations for relief aid.\nOne of the ways people are donating? By watching TV. \nViggle is a rewards-based interactive app for television. Until Tuesday, Nov. 13, the company is letting its members donate to the Red Cross using points they receive from tuning into shows. The goal is to raise $20,000; Viggle will match any donations up to that amount. \nViggle President Greg Consiglio said he and his team launched the campaign after their office lost power during the storm.\n\"Our offices were shut down because we didn't have power,\" he told Mashable. \"We started a dialogue with our users around how they could turn the points they earn through the app into donations for storm relief. So we got in touch with the Red Cross and were able to make it happen.\"\nUsing Viggle, users can \"check in\" to a TV show \u2014 similar to Foursquare \u2014 and earn \"Viggle points\" for every minute watched. For the Sandy campaign, every 5,000 points redeemed will send $5 to the Red Cross. \nSEE ALSO: 20 TV Shows With the Most Social Media Buzz This Week\n\nUsers can gain extra points with a game called Viggle Live, which has questions, polls and games \u2014 created by Viggle's editorial staff \u2014 that correlate with each show. Points can then be redeemed for gift cards, song downloads and movie tickets, among other things. The shows that interact with the app vary each week, Consiglio said. In the past, shows like Grimm, Undercover Boss, CSI: New York and Saturday Night Live have used Viggle Live.\nDuring Tuesday night's election results, Consiglio said, Viggle Live had polls, trivia questions and games updated throughout the night, which helped users gain hundreds \u2014 if not, thousands \u2014 of Viggle points. \n\"What's really neat is that we've had people who told us that they're sitting on hundreds of thousands of Viggle points, saving up for something like Kindle Fire or an iPad,\" he said, \"and they decided to take all their points and donate them to the Red Cross. That's just so great to hear.\"\n\nAs of this writing, Viggle has surpassed its goal and raised $22,800. Consiglio said they'll continue collecting money until tomorrow's deadline, as well as donate their additional $20,000. \nViggle was launched in January 2012, and is free for both iOS and Android devices. It currently has approximately 1.2 million users, Consiglio said.\nDo you use Viggle? What other creative methods have people used to raise money for Sandy relief efforts? Let us know. \nImage courtesy of Flickr, FailedImitator"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/11/12/donate-hurricane-sandy-viggle-watch-tv/>