If you’re a hotmail user, this is pretty much the easiest way I can imagine for you to become involved in the American Red Cross, and we want to make sure you know that you can now donate to the Red Cross by sending Hotmail email in addition to IMing with Windows Messenger.

With the recent program expansion, Microsoft essentially doubles the opportunity for giving, allowing customers to support the i’m Initiative using both Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail. By following the directions at http://im.live.com, people can add the i’m Initiative to each account, but are not required to add the i’m Initiative to both accounts. Microsoft will make a donation to the American Red Cross every time someone sends a message using Windows Live Messenger or Windows Live Hotmail.

If participants select the Red Cross as their cause of choice, donations will support the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to disaster survivors. With no set cap on the amount donated, the more a participant uses the services, the more money goes to help the Red Cross respond to disasters of every size and scope. Each year, in communities large and small, the Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 emergencies, with help and hope provided by hundreds of thousands of volunteers of all ages.