J.J. Watt’s Foundation Has Rebuilt Over 1,100 Homes (And Counting) With The Money It Raised Following Hurricane Harvey

Getty Image

It’s been two years since Hurricane Harvey descended upon Texas and the surrounding areas and left a path of destruction in its wake but we were able to find some inspiration in the wreckage thanks to the incredible outpouring of support the storm inspired—especially from the sporting world.

Plenty of major names donated money to the cause but it’s hard to argue anyone did more than J.J. Watt, who began raising funds as soon as the storm hit. He’d continue to fight the good fight in the aftermath, and when everything was said and done, he helped raise over $40 million for recovery efforts.

Last year, Watt shared what he’d been able to do with the money on the one-year anniversary of the storm and revealed the donations had helped rebuild over 600 homes and purchased tens of millions of meals for people in need.

Most people have probably forgotten about Harvey by now, but Watt is not one of them, and on Thursday morning, he provided us with another update while reminding us there’s plenty of work still to be done.

As things currently stand, Watt’s foundation and their non-profit partners have helped reconstruct almost 1,200 homes (a number that will only continue to rise) and have distributed hundreds of millions of meals for those impacted by a storm whose impact still lingers to this day.

I used to think Watt was a major try-hard, but when you consider how genuinely hard he’s tried to make things right for the victims of Harvey, I don’t see how you can’t have a ton of respect for him.