Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest Hollywood star to donate money to support the victims of Hurricane Harvey….
According to Yahoo News The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation has donated $1 million to the newly-established United Way Harvey Recovery Fund, which will help with both short and long-term relief following the devastating natural disaster.
United Way Worldwide said it was “incredibly grateful” for the generosity of DiCaprio and his foundation.
“Responding to Hurricane Harvey requires the best of all of us – and that’s what this gift represents,” the fund’s president and CEO Brian Gallagher said.
The fund has confirmed it will distribute 100% of donations to help the thousands of evacuees in Texas and Louisiana created by the catastrophic flooding.
(Photo: Yahoo News)
The $1 million pledge from DiCaprio’s foundation is the first to go to the national fund.
The Oscar-winner and his foundation have previously donated to recovery efforts following the 2004 tsunami, the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Sandy.
DiCaprio’s foundation is now urging others to “step up and support” the relief efforts. Many other celebrities have also provided monetary assistance to help victims of the hurricane in recent days.
DiCaprio’s donation matches that given by Sandra Bullock to the American Red Cross, and stars including Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Hart, the Kardashian family and Jennifer Lopez have all pledged sizeable amounts to various organisations supporting the recovery.
On Wednesday, authorities in Texas confirmed the death toll from Hurricane Harvey was 31, but this number is expected to rise.
The National Hurricane Centre has downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression, but is warning of continued flooding in parts of south-east Texas and south-west Louisiana.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
