Hurricane Harvey

J.J. Watt aims to raise $1 million for hurricane relief as Texans and Texas oil company step up, too

Watt announced via Twitter that he has started a fundraiser on YouCaring to help Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Kindness gives birth to kindness. As Hurricane Harvey continues to devastate the Houston-area, our hometown NFL team, the Texans, along with Houston-based global energy company Anadarko, and defensive end J.J. Watt are coming through for our city in a big way.

The Houston Texans have pledged $1 million to help Houston rebuild. On Monday, via the tweet below, the team announced that they are donating $1 million to the United Way of Greater Houston Flood Relief Fund. Anadarko and the NFL have also pledged to donate $1 million each.

Mr. McNair and the #Texans are pledging $1 million dollars to the United Way of Greater Houston Flood Relief Fund. #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/emzPzGdnr7

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans)

August 28, 2017

Watt announced via Twitter that he has started a fundraising campaign on YouCaring to help relief efforts, to which he personally contributed $100,000. The money will be donated to the Red Cross.

"Whatever you can donate, please donate to help these people out," Watt says in the video below. "Houston's a great city. We're going to come out of this stronger than ever."

Recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey will be massive.
We must come together to help rebuild our communities.https://t.co/SR6DmnNbyM pic.twitter.com/iiMsG2i4dl

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 27, 2017

Thus far, Watt's efforts have raised more than $500,000 in less than 24 hours. Of that amount, $50,000 was donated by newly-minted Houston Rocket Chris Paul.

The generosity of @CP3's $50k donation is actually what put us over the $500k mark. Phenomenal stuff from donations both large and small.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 28, 2017

Head to our news partners at ABC13.com for the full story.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”