Jennifer Lopez announced Sunday she would personally be donating $1 million to relief efforts for Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
The reveal came as the actress made a surprise appearance alongside Governor Andrew Cuomo, as he and other elected officials publicized the launch of a statewide donation drive to aid to the ravaged nation.
“Today Puerto Rico needs our help,” J.Lo, who is co-chairing the effort, told the Javits Center crowd. “My cousins and I and all of our family still haven’t been able to hear from all of our family over there, we are concerned for them and for everyone on the island.”
Lopez added that she and boyfriend Alex Rodriguez are piling their sway to “garner support for Puerto Rico and Caribbean relief efforts.”
“I will always be a New Yorker, I am a proud Puerto Rican and I cannot tell you what it meant to me and the people of Puerto Rico to see New York not only pledge their effort but for Gov. Cuomo to actually show up with resources and supplies,” the singer shared.
Lopez, who spoke in both English and Spanish, noted that Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees have also committed to making a “significant contribution” as well. The New York Mets are joining the effort too, asking fans attending games at Citi Field on September 25, 26 and 27 to bring donations to the ball game between.
“With Marc Anthony, we are spearheading additional reliefs efforts and organizing the Latino community of artists and athletes to rush the relief that our brothers and sisters in Mexico, P.R., and the Caribbean desperately need,” J.Lo said. “We are working with Mark Cuban and Jose Alvara, and we have two team planes filled with supplies and generators awaiting air clearance to depart, land, and unload these much need supplies in San Jose.”
Cuomo Sunday unveiled a statewide effort that will include collection and financial support. Collection points will be set up across the state, he said, and donations will be stored at the Javits Center and secured by the National Guard until they are delivered by JetBlue airlines. Those living in the Big Apple can drop off donations at the Javits Center, the Shirley A. Chisholm State Office Building, the Jamaica Street Armory, and the Roberto Clemente State Park.
Cuomo was joined by Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, actress Rosie Perez, Mets pitcher Seth Lugo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo for the announcement.
“Let’s remember the context of this effort,” the governor warned. “I’m very proud of what New Yorkers are doing, I encourage other states to do the same thing, but this is going to be a long hard road and this is a situation that’s going to require billions of dollars in assistance and real capacity provided to the island and that’s going to have to be done by the federal government. Now P.R. needs helps and needs it urgently.”
“To our colleagues in the Federal government, I humbly suggest at this time, instead of arguing with football players, instead of obsessing about how to take healthcare from the poor in this country, why don’t we put the political asides and focus on helping Americans,” Cuomo suggested. “Americans go first, we can save lives.”
The governor visited Puerto Rico on Friday, taking a day-long trip to help deliver supplies. Upon his return he described the scene as “heartbreaking.”
Maria devastated the island nation, claiming at least 13 lives since it made landfall last week.