Stars band together for Hurricane Harvey relief
Stars have heeded Kevin Hart’s call to action to help raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
“My heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayer for those affected and for the rescuers who have been so brave and determined to do so much to help,” Houston native Beyoncé said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle on Monday. “I am working closely with my team at BeyGOOD as well as my pastor to implement a plan to help as many as we can.”
DJ Khaled, accompanied by infant son Asahd, pledged $25,000, as did Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who also offered a pep talk to those in Harvey’s devastating path.
“Regardless of race and politics, we all want to step up to the plate and do everything we can to help out our brothers and sisters and families in need … I want to send a message to the people of Houston: You gotta stay strong and you gotta hold on to faith,” said Johnson, 45. “I know what you’re going through. I went through it, my family went through it. We went through Hurricane Andrew, which was a Category 5 hurricane. The eye of that storm crossed directly over us, it was devastating. We survived and got stronger, and so will you.”
Other stars went above and beyond Hart’s $25,000 challenge.
Chris Brown announced plans to pledge $100,000, though he admitted he was “skeptical about the Red Cross.”
The Kardashian family donated $500,000 to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, Kim Kardashian tweeted on Tuesday.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, collectively known as J-Rod, announced in an Instagram video of their own on Tuesday that they’d donate $50,000 to relief efforts.
In the sports world, Houston Texan star J.J. Watt’s fundraising efforts surpassed their original goal of $1 million thanks to a $50,000 donation from new Houston Rocket point guard Chris Paul. Watt, 28, has since raised his goal to $2 million. As of press time, Watt’s YouCaring page had already brought in $1.62 million in donations.
On Monday, singer Chris Young announced that he had donated $100,000 to relief efforts.