Houston Texans Star J.J. Watt Raises Nearly $20 Million for Hurricane Harvey Victims

j.j. watt hurricane harvey

As the NFL season opener approaches, too many people are still talking about what Colin Kaepernick isn’t doing – standing for the National Anthem and playing in the NFL – but not enough are talking about what Houston Texans Defensive End J.J. Watt IS doing.

The NFL star is helping the people affected by Hurricane Harvey in his community.

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year is earning the MVP in Houston with his Houston Flood Relief Fund. Thanks, in part, to some big celebrity and corporate names, like Drake, Ellen, Walmart, and the Tennessee Titans Organization, along with almost 200,000 other generous people across the world, what started out as a $200,000 fundraising goal turned into 10 times that in a week and, by the time you read this, they’ve probably already surpassed the new goal of $20 million!

Physical donations are coming in so fast that they haven’t even had to start spending the money that’s been raised – the storage space, trucks, the drivers, the materials, etc. were all donated for a big distribution event in Houston on Sunday.

Watt and other players and staff from the Houston Texans organization spent Sunday handing out supplies to needy people at several locations in the area and putting smiles on the faces of people who have been through the wringer this past week.

What’s amazing is that J.J. Watt has been hands-on involved with every step of the process, including posting updates on social media thanking everybody and detailing plans and progress for Sunday’s event.

According to James Palmer:

I asked Watt how many hours he’s spent on his fundraiser and planning this event since he arrived in Houston with the rest of his teammates on Wednesday. “All of them,” he said, smiling. Outside of a two to three hour workout each day, Watt has spent every second working with either Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, people from the Justin J. Watt Foundation, or volunteers to make this massive project a success in just a few short days. There is no question there were also a few prayers Saturday night that things would go off without a hitch.

Many professionals — let alone professional football players — struggle to lead groups during a time of crisis. Watt has done it brilliantly. I asked someone close to Watt, who has been with him during every step of the planning and preparation, how much of this he’s actually been hands-on for. She responded, “All of it.”

As for the tens of millions of dollars he’s raised, J.J. says, “I’m going to take my time, make sure that I work with local organizations that we do it right here in the city so that money goes straight to the people here of Houston who need it the most so that we can help rebuild them.”

There’s a reason they call him “The Milkman” – he always delivers. #HoustonStrong

If you’d like to donate to J.J. Watt’s Houston Flood Relief Fund you can do so HERE.

Alexa is a freelance writer and communications consultant, with experience working on the Hill, at the RNC, and for... More about Alexa

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