NFL Star Faces Amazing Problem Days After Announcing Hurricane Harvey Fundraiser

By John Falkenberg
August 30, 2017 at 5:17pm

J.J. Watt is more than a defensive end for the Houston Texans. He’s a fundraising powerhouse.

Being a football player based in Houston, Watt is perhaps a bit more passionate about the crisis in Texas than some, and he felt led to start a crowdfunding page on YouCaring on behalf of those affected by the flooding.

When he set up the page on Sunday, the fundraising goal was $500,000 — no small sum.

By Wednesday evening, the page had almost $7 million, and that number had gone up approximately $100,000 from the time I first opened the page to when I refreshed it for an accurate number — about 12 minutes. So many people are trying to donate that the website was having difficulty dealing with the traffic.

.@JJWatt’s page is so overwhelmed with people donating, the organization CEO says the site is having technical difficulties. At nearly $4M. pic.twitter.com/ckoRLmnrmg

— Ryan Parker (@TheRyanParker) August 29, 2017

Monday, the organization’s CEO announced that there some issues due to high traffic, but that those who couldn’t donate on the first try should try again in a few minutes.

Hopefully, at this point the issue is resolved.

Watt is elated by the incredible generosity taking place all around the country.

“I think that it’s been an unbelievable display of what can happen when people come together,” Watt said according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Just to see how many people are sharing it, to see how many people are donating. 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,” he continued.

“And I think that’s what Houston’s all about. It’s a very diverse city. It’s a very resilient city. It’s been through things like this before – maybe not of this magnitude, but it’s been through these types of situations.”

What was started as a generous, but moderately sized fundraiser for a good cause has become a sensation.

For those of you who can, I urge you to donate, as well. Even if it’s not to Watt’s fund, the Red Cross has a fund specifically for that purpose.

Let’s do what we can, where we can.

H/T The Daily Caller

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