Charitable Celebs
Pop acts Jennifer Lopez and Demi Lovato are extending their hands supporting organizations close to their hearts. Lopez is donating $1 million to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The 48-year-old singer and actress also sought the help of her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez. “Alex Rodriguez and I, who are both New Yorkers, are using all our resources and relationships in entertainment, sports and business to garner support for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean,” said Lopez. Lopez’s ex-husband Marc Anthony also urged his fans to help Puerto Rico. In videos in English and Spanish posted to his social media, the singer urged people to donate to the relief efforts led by the island’s first lady, Beatriz Rossello, saying, “Today, Puerto Rico needs our help.” Both Lopez and Marc Anthony have Puerto Rican roots. Lopez, co- chair of the Empire State Relief & Recovery Effort, urged people to support Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Mexico with donations and contributions.
“I cannot tell you what it meant to me and to the people of Puerto Rico to see New York not only pledge support but Governor (Andrew) Cuomo to actually show up with resources and supplies,” Lopez said.
Cuomo launched a state effort to help hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico last Sunday.
Cuomo also made a reference to Republican President Donald Trump’s comments criticizing athletes who protest during the national anthem, saying “instead of arguing with football players ...why don’t we put the politics aside and focus on helping Americans in desperate need.”
Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico last week with heavy winds and rain, knocking out all power to the island. During his visit, Cuomo said he witnessed “breathtaking” devastation. The week before, Cuomo traveled to the US Virgin Islands following Hurricane Irma.
Also over the weekend, Lovato was named a Global Citizen ambassador at the organization’s annual music festival Saturday, championing the mental health of thousands of children displaced within Iraq and other vulnerable communities.
The singer and Global Citizen will fund the expansion of a Save the Children pilot program, Healing and Education through the Arts, to violence-scarred young people living in Iraq’s Kirkuk and Salah al Din areas.
“Ending the stigma around mental health conditions and supporting internally displaced children to build physical and mental resilience through education and access to justice is not a choice, it needs to happen, and it needs to happen now,” the singer said onstage in Central Park.
Since 2014, more than three million people in Iraq have been displaced within the country due to war and conflict. Carolyn Miles, president and chief executive officer of Save the Children, told the festival crowd the organization’s HEART program will allow displaced children scarred by the violence to process trauma “through drawing, painting, music and other art forms” as a way to begin healing and “rebuild their self-confidence and trust in others.”
Lovato has been a strong advocate for mental health issues after sharing her own struggles with eating disorders, substance abuse and a bipolar diagnosis. /