The bad news: The water keeps rising in Houston. The good news: J.J. Watt is helping come to the rescue.
The Texans defensive end began an online fundraising page Sunday night, seeking $200,000 in donations for victims of Hurricane Harvey. He raised it to $500,000 after quickly reaching the initial goal, with a $100,000 of his own money.
In just over 24 hours, Watt’s efforts had raised more than $955,000, including $50,000 from new Rockets point guard Chris Paul.
“We can’t help physically, so we’re going to help raise that money, we’re going to try to make sure that we get a jump-start on it,” Watt said Monday after practice at the Cowboys’ practice facility. “We’re not going to wait until it’s too late to start. We’re going to try to raise that money right now, because we know what’s about to happen.
“We know that once this storm stops there’s going to be massive, massive recovery efforts, and we want to be there. We want to be ahead of it so we can really get a jump-start on getting these people back on their feet.”
Watt said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for his adopted hometown, which has seen unprecedented flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
“I think that it’s been an unbelievable display of what can happen when people come together,” Watt said. “Whether it’s $5, whether it’s $500, whatever it may be, to see so many people’s support, to see so many people send the message, spread the message, it’s incredible. That’s what Houston’s all about. It’s a very diverse city. It’s a very resilient city.
“That’s what this country is about, is helping each other when we’re down, lifting each other up when we’re down. I think we’re in a time right now where obviously the City of Houston, the state of Texas especially, the southeastern part is down, so we need to help them as much as we possibly can.”
You can make donations to YouCaring, Watt’s fundraiser, here. The Red Cross also has a donation page for Hurricane Harvey victims.