Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 hurricane that hit Texas severely. Many celebrities and major corporations are donating money to help Texas since the damage of Harvey struck.
Hurricane Harvey first struck Rockport, Texas on August 25 then emerged in the Gulf of Mexico on the 28. Harvey ended in Louisiana on Aug. 29.
Hurricane Harvey is one of the worst natural disasters of all time. Celebrities like Kevin Hart, J.J. Watt and others have begun raising money to help others in need from Harvey’s disasters.
“I’m challenging a lot of my celebrity friends to follow my lead in donating $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey to the Red Cross. At this point, this is a serious matter I think that people are in bad shape and need help,” Kevin Hart said in an interview with NBC News.
Kevin Hart is famous for his humor and comical life situations, but this time, he’s not joking around. Kevin Hart challenged his other celebrity friends to donate money to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey relief. Hart released his statement in an Instagram video that challenged his other friends to match his donation, including Chris Rock, Beyoncé and Jerry Seinfeld.
Since then, celebrities have donated over $10 million to aid relief for Harvey. Not only did other celebrities contribute, but major corporations, including the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, have all donated one million dollars each toward the damages.
“I feel like J.J. Watt did something nobody else would’ve done to go out of his way to raise money for people,” Joe Suppa, a junior business major, said. One of the first people to take action towards donating was Houston Texans‘ J.J. Watt.
On August 27, Watt began the mission of fundraising $200,000 towards Harvey relief. Since then, Watt released that he has raised more than $30 million. Among Watt’s fundraiser, the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Texas Rangers and Houston Texans have all donated millions to help with the cost recovering from the hurricane.
“It’s terrible to go through all of the damages that has happened to them,” Darlene Krauser, a Long Beach Island resident, said. “When there was flooding in LBI, it was rough to adjust after that.
The Washington Post reported that Hurricane Harvey has already cost $80 billion in damages and it could have the potential to cost as high as $190 billion. Hurricane Katrina was the most costly disaster in United States history, which caused $108 billion worth of damages. Though, Katrina was a category 5 hurricane and Harvey only peaked at category 4 at peak.
“I feel like the people who are donating money are from Houston or at least have relatives from there,” Justin Sanborn, a Wildwood, N.J. resident, said of Harvey’s supporters. Along with donating a large amount of money, actress Sandra Bullock showed sympathy for the people who have been affected by Harvey.
As Houston is Beyoncé’s hometown, a plan with BeyGOOD is in effect among the donation she gave.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson released an Instagram video as well that described what he and his family went through during Hurricane Andrew. In the video, Johnson encouraged citizens to stay strong.
Other celebrities that pitched in include: DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj and Wendy Williams.
Harvey has the potential to be the worst natural disaster in the U.S. to cost the most in damages. Cabrini University students still have the opportunity to donate to Hurricane Harvey relief.
