Penn State University alumni and fans have donated $360,000 in the past few days to a child sex-abuse group to demonstrate their support for the youngsters allegedly molested by their alma mater’s former football coach, Jerry Sandusky.

The grassroots fund-raising campaign seeks to raise more than $550,000, or about a dollar for each of Penn State’s 557,000 alumni. Organizers say it hopes to meet that goal by the end of this week.

The money supports the Internet hotline for victims of sexual assault managed by Rainn, the acronym for the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, a Washington nonprofit.

The campaign got its start after some Penn State alumni suggested the idea to Rainn on Tuesday of last week.

By Wednesday, organizers had built a Web site—ProudToBeAPennStater.com, and supporters immediately turned to social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, to spread…

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