--- title: Edward Norton Raises Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees description: He was inspired by a story he saw on Humans of New York. canonical: https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-14T16:50:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:27:41.828Z og:title: Edward Norton Helps Raise Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees og:description: He was inspired by a story he saw on Humans of New York og:url: https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81eabfa94f83c519/69887538524fc021badf5e99/norton-refugees-fundraiser-2015.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: edward norton, syrian refugees, fundraiser og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Edward Norton Helps Raise Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees twitter:description: He was inspired by a story he saw on Humans of New York twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81eabfa94f83c519/69887538524fc021badf5e99/norton-refugees-fundraiser-2015.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Edward Norton Helps Raise Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees by [Jodi Guglielmi / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jodi Guglielmi / People Contributor Dec 14, 2015 4:50 PM UTC  Edward Norton in a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, in New York City on September 29, 2015. Edward Norton in a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, in New York City on September 29, 2015.Getty Images by [Jodi Guglielmi / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jodi Guglielmi / People Contributor Dec 14, 2015 4:50 PM UTC The story of a Syrian refugee has touched the heart of [Edward Norton](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:EdwardNorton,00.html). The actor, 46, is working to raise money for a Syrian scientist who was featured in the popular photography blog [Humans of New York](https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/) last week. After reading the devastating story of the unidentified man referred to as “The Scientist” who lost his wife and daughter in a bombing and is fighting stomach cancer, Norton said he was moved to tears and inspired to step in and help. Norton started a fundraiser through the website [Crowdrise](https://cdn.crowdrise.com/thescientist) to encourage people to donate money to support the man’s move to Troy, Michigan, and integration into America. “I saw this story on one of my favorite sites, Humans of New York, and it moved me to tears. This man has suffered profound loss that would crush the spirit of many people and yet he still passionately wants a chance to contribute positively to the world,” he wrote on the website. He continued: “Everything we raise here will go to help this family so that the father can get the medical treatment he needs to live and pursue his work, and his family can build a new stable life after their tragedy.” Nearly $400,000 has been raised through the efforts of Norton and Humans of New York. Norton isn’t the only high-profile luminary to take notice of the Scientist. The story went viral on Facebook with thousands of likes and shares, and even garnered the attention of President Barack Obama, who sent a message welcoming the refugee to the United States. “As a husband and a father, I cannot even begin to imagine the loss you’ve endured. You and your family are an inspiration. I know that the great people of Michigan will embrace you with the compassion and support you deserve,” he wrote. “Yes, you can still make a difference in the world, and we’re proud that you’ll pursue your dreams here. Welcome to your new home. You’re part of what makes America great.” _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/edward-norton-funraiser-syrian-refugee) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/"},"headline":"Edward Norton Helps Raise Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees","datePublished":"2015-12-14T16:50:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:27:41.828Z","description":"He was inspired by a story he saw on Humans of New York","url":"https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Fundraising","Syrian refugees","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81eabfa94f83c519/69887538524fc021badf5e99/norton-refugees-fundraiser-2015.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jodi Guglielmi / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81eabfa94f83c519/69887538524fc021badf5e99/norton-refugees-fundraiser-2015.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"edward norton, syrian refugees, fundraiser","caption":"edward norton, syrian refugees, fundraiser","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4147639/edward-norton-syrian-refugees/","name":"Edward Norton Helps Raise Nearly $400,000 for Syrian Refugees"}}]}] ```