Celebrities Pitch in For Hurricane Milton Relief
Hurricane Milton began making its way through Florida at 8:30 pm last Wednesday. Its intensity and impact have been compared to some of the United States’ most destructive hurricanes, Katrina and the more recent Hurricane Helene. Already, 14 have been confirmed dead after it touched down on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Responding to the emergency, many celebrities have been donating their resources to aid relief efforts in the southeastern states. A number of them have personal ties with the affected areas.
Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have given away $1 million to Feeding America, boosting the nonprofit’s ability to offer food, supplies, and potable water to devastated communities. Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift also issued a generous $5 million donation to the same organization.
Country music icon Dolly Parton, a native of Tennessee’s Pitman Center, pledged $1 million to the disaster recovery efforts of Hurricane Helene. She committed another $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation on behalf of her businesses, including her self-named theme park Dollywood.
“This is my home,” Parton announced at a press conference. “God has been good to me and so has the public, and I feel that if there’s anything I can do to give back in any way I can I’m always willing to do that. I want to feel like I’m doing my part.”
NFL star Tom Brady will also be donating $100,000 with the help of digital delivery service company Gopuff.
Meanwhile, A-list musicians like Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor, and Bailey Zimmerman are organizing a benefit concert entitled “Concert for Carolina.” Scheduled to take place on October 26 in North Carolina, nearly 40,000 people lined up for tickets which have since sold out. Only the premium $1,000 seats have been left.
Regular Americans Do Their Part
Aside from Hollywood VIPs, ordinary citizens across the nation are contributing to hurricane relief efforts. According to an October 10 article published by Forbes, the nation has raised an impressive $50 million to help communities and businesses get back on their feet.
The amount was raised through a GoFundMe campaign which has seen participation from 400,000 people spread across every state in the US. The average amount donated was $120.
Those who want to extend help can donate to the American Red Cross and other organizations focused on disaster relief.
