The heart-warming people supporting victims of Hurricane Harvey
- Published
Hurricane Harvey continues to wreak havoc over Houston, Texas. Over 30,000 people have abandoned their homes to seek shelter until it is deemed safe to return, and it remains to be seen exactly what desolation they will be returning to when they eventually do.
But amid the destruction, some people have gone above and beyond to help their fellow citizens.
The Louisiana Cajun Navy is a group of volunteers who formed after nearly 2,000 people died in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “We rise up and unite and rescue our neighbors,” their Facebook page says.
In response to the events in Houston, the Cajun Navy drove 275 miles from Louisiana with 20 boats on the back of trucks.
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MJ Khan, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, has described the unfolding events as presenting “a religious obligation to help others”. Four mosques have been turned into 24-hour shelters providing food and water for citizens, external.
On Sunday night, 'Mattress Mack', whose real name is Jim McIngvale, posted on Facebook that he was offering up refuge for “anyone who is in need” in his furniture stores, Gallery Furniture. The post - which has been shared over 16,000 times so far – says that food, beds, and clean bathrooms will be provided.
McIngvale has said that, external he “saw the devastation of the entire area and decided it would be best if we opened this 100,000-square-foot furniture store as a shelter”.
McIngvale’s store account later commented below the original post that they feel “blessed to help those in need as we can”.
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Some local restaurants have offered help, too, with Mark and Codi Bouknight, general managers of Pei Wei, posting on Facebook on Wednesday offering to feed anyone they can.
“I know shelters and hospitals are having trouble feeding everyone,” the post reads. “We are here to use our remaining inventory to get everyone we can fed!”
And, on Monday, employees of Frank’s Pizza defied the weather to deliver pizza, external to some of Houston’s police officers.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, a branch of the Anheuser-Busch brewery has even stopped producing beer, external so it could send over 155,000 cans of clean water to areas in need.
A number of celebrities have reached into their pockets to offer their support for Harvey’s victims, too.
Beyoncé, whose home town is Houston, has promised to help as many victims as she can, while The Rock and Kim Kardashian West have both donated thousands of dollars to supporting organisations.
Sandra Bullock, though, is our celebrity hero of the day after donating a staggering $1million.
