Hurricane Irma: Celebrities Rally Around Victims, Who’s Donated What
Celebrities are rallying around Florida and the areas affected by Hurricane Irma.
A number of famous faces have pledged time and money to help the victims of the horrific storm that ripped through the Caribbean and Florida over the weekend after pledging millions of dollars to those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, just days earlier.
Country star Travis Tritt confirmed that he’d donated an undisclosed amount of money to Hurricane Irma relief funds, while Virgin boss Richard Branson – who weathered the powerful storm on his private destination Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands – revealed that he had donated money to the Red Cross.
Branson also sent out a Virgin Atlantic flight to the affected areas to provide aid.
Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds donated to the cause and vowed to help rebuilding efforts in both Texas and Florida.
“Let’s help Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to f*** off,” he tweeted, urging his followers to donate to the people of both states affected by the natural disaster. “Support http://Americares.org or charity of your choice: http://charitynavigator.org.”
Singer Enrique Iglesias, who moved to Florida when he was 8-years-old, set up an Omaze donation page to encourage fans to donate to the cause via Save the Children. His efforts have already raised more than $2,800.
Please donate to Hurricane Irma & Harvey relief: https://t.co/pyO23i0Rcl pic.twitter.com/MNxiuk9bBi
— Enrique Iglesias (@enriqueiglesias) September 13, 2017
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jacqueline Laurita also set up a donations page to help families with special needs children in the wake of Irma, while model CJ Koegel confirmed that he would be heading to Florida on September 14 to aid relief efforts.
The Miami Herald is reporting that the Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers have also each donated $1 million to hurricane relief efforts. The NLF Foundation will give a further $1 million to help rebuild after Irma.
In addition to individual donations and efforts, a slew of celebrities also appeared on the telethon Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief which aired across major U.S. networks on September 12.
A number of celebrities — including Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Lupita Nyong’o, and Jay Leno — all took phone calls from those pledging donations, while musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Blake Shelton, Usher, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Demi Lovato, and more performed during the telethon.
Oprah, Beyonce, Cher, Selena Gomez, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more stars also made appearances either in the studio or via video to encourage fans to donate to hurricane relief efforts in both Florida and Texas.
CBC confirmed that the hour-long benefit for both recent hurricanes to hit the United States raised a huge $44 million for the victims.
In addition, Disney has also announced that they will be donating $2.5 million to Hurricane Irma relief efforts, while Anheuser-Busch has given 300,000 cans of drinking water to the people of Florida.
[Featured Image by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images]
