Hollywood celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $1 million to help children affected by the Iraq war, their charitable foundation has announced.

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave $500,000 to three groups in Iraq to provide aid for some 5,700 children.

The foundation gave an additional $500,000 to the Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Programme, a US organisation that helps children who have a military parent killed in Iraq, or who are separated from a parent stationed in the country.

“This generous donation will help restore vital education services for Iraqi children whose schooling was disrupted by ongoing violence,” George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee, said Wednesday. The organisation helps children in southern Iraq and received $200,000.

The grant will help pay for school rehabilitation programmes as well as educational necessities such as books and supplies.

“These educational support programmes for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal,” said Jolie in announcing the donation.

Pitt, 44, and Jolie, 33, are among the high-profile philanthropists in Hollywood.

In addition to donating millions of dollars for various social causes, Jolie serves as a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Pitt is a leading advocate for relief in the Darfur region and for victims of Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast.

Tags: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Brangelina donate $1 million to Iraq

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