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J.J. Watt's Hurricane Harvey Relief Funds Officially Shatters World Record

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It’s been a little more than a year since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and Texans star J.J. Watt sprang into action to raise funds to help rebuild the areas of the city damaged by the storm.

Well, it turns out that not only did the $41.6 million Watt’s foundation raised do a world of good for rebuilding the city faster than you can say storm surge, but it also set a new world record in the process.

Watt announced Monday that the fundraiser was the largest crowd-sourced donation drive in history.

It’s also a testament to what can happen when people get together under honest leadership to do good deeds.

After all, there are about 2 million people, give or take, in Houston, making $41 million something along the lines of $20 for every man, woman and child in the city.

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Put another way, that much money for every man, woman, and child in America is $6 billion.

The Texans’ PR staff helped spread the social media word.

Every cent of the money went to nonprofits in the Houston area; not one penny went toward any sort of grift, “administrative fees,” or anything of that ilk. Just money in and given out.

And if you’re wondering what those non-profits did with the money, Texans PR has you covered on that front too.

Some of the numbers are astonishing: 600 homes rebuilt. 420 childcare centers and after-school programs serving 16,000 kids.

Does J.J. Watt belong in a discussion of American heroes?
They gave out 26 million meals, which would be enough to give one person three squares a day for 23,744 years.

Physical and mental health services went to 6,500 people who surely needed it after a storm laid waste to their way of life.

And 10,000 people got medicine.

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And, cherry on the sundae time, every one of those numbers came with a plus. It’s quite possible the actual numbers were higher still.

Watt’s not done, either. He’s got money left over and he’s not about to let it go to waste.

Over the next year, those disaster-affected neighborhoods will continue to get the ongoing funding and care they need to restore and improve them.

Boys and Girls’ Clubs are getting rebuilt.

Habitat for Humanity is involved.

Watt is going to plant Harvey’s memory in the turf like it’s an unprotected quarterback.

If you needed some good news today … we’re happy to provide. And even though America lost a hero over the weekend, we’ve got plenty of them still very much alive.

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Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Birthplace
Boston, Massachusetts
Education
Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Nevada-Reno
Location
Seattle, Washington
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Sports




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