He’s doing what he wishes someone would’ve done for him!
NFL player Leonard Fournette donated $100,000 to Hurricane Ida relief efforts, Black Enterprise reports.
Fournette is a New Orleans native who was just 10 years old when Hurricane Katrina devastated his neighborhood. The storm caused him and his family to flee the city to an elevated stretch of Interstate 10.
“We had to go loot and get [food]. We stole, like a barbecue grill, and was barbecuing for everybody on the bridge… It was crazy. You’re young, so you don’t really realize what was going on. But as you get older, you realize the things you went through as far as a lot of dead bodies in the water and really having to start looting to try and survive,” Fournette recalled.
Now 26-years-old, he’s rebuilt his life, playing college football at Louisiana State University and landing a job as a star running back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Recently, Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana eerily close to the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The Category 4 storm made landfall with nearly 150 miles per hour winds, leaving millions without power as the city struggles through a blackout with temperatures reaching in the hundreds. The aftermath is all too familiar for Fournette, who has decided to use his platform to help the residents of his city. Recently, he announced that he had donated $100,000 to relief efforts, encouraging his teammates and others who can contribute as well.
“I donated $100,000 out of my own money just to help people out in New Orleans and all over Louisiana, whoever is going through something or whoever needed something. Tomorrow, I’m having a meeting with the team and to see who wants to give something to the funding to help out. That’s the big thing. Hopefully, it’s successful to help out those who are in need,” said Fournette.
Thankfully, the star player could get his family to Tampa with him before the storm hit. But with flooding still being an issue and power entirely out, he knows that other families need all the help he can get.
“I want to use my platform to help out my city and everyone that is around Louisiana. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that,” Fournette said, speaking of his family’s ordeal with Hurricane Katrina.
He took to social media to spread the news about his efforts, listing the organizations he was directly donating to, including Cajun Navy Relief and Rescue, Second Harvest Food Bank, All Hands and Hearts, The St. Bernard Project, and Direct Relief.
“It’s time to step up. The New Orleans community is being hit hard by Hurricane Ida and in need of the world’s support. I am supporting the following organizations in its relief efforts to provide my beloved city and its families, children, and individuals with basic necessities,” wrote Fournette.
If you would like to get involved in Hurricane Ida Relief Efforts, here is a list of organizations directly helping Black and brown people impacted by Hurricane Ida, courtesy of The Grio.
The Power Coalition for Equality & Justice
Gulf South for a New Green Deal
Greater New Orleans Foundation
Thank you for your service, Leonard! And blessings to all the people impacted by Hurricane Ida!
Photo Courtesy of Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images