In Just 56 Seconds, Comedian Goes Viral After Calling Out Hollywood Elite Over Hurricane Harvey Response

Comedian Issues Challenge To Hollywood

The entire world is watching in horror as Hurricane Harvey ravages the state of Texas, leaving 10 dead and survivors injured, traumatized, and homeless in its wake. As people scramble to do whatever they can to help – be it offering their own homes as shelter for those displaced, taking boats out into the storm to try and save every life they can, or tweeting out information on people who are still stuck and awaiting rescue, one member of the celebrity world has taken it upon himself to use his star power and financial success to help – and he called out his friends in Hollywood to do the same, listing them off by name.

Hollywood funnyman Kevin Hart went viral this morning with a 56 second video in which he addresses Hurricane Harvey and the damage it’s wrought upon Houston, Texas in the past 72 hours. Calling to mind the mindless challenges that have graced social media over the years, Hart issued up a firm challenge to his friends in Hollywood: donate $25,000 and when you’re done, tag another celebrity friend to do the same.

4 Ways To Help Those Affected By Hurricane Harvey:

• Donate money: With recovery costs threatening to climb into the billions, anything helps – really. The fine folks over at Public Good have created a website with several different non-profits to which money can be donated to those directly affected by Hurricane Harvey; they’re all IRS-verified and you can rest assured that your money will go exactly where it needs to.
• Donate blood: The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is in desperate need of more than 2,000 units of blood, specifically O negative and O positive. Here’s a list of locations to donate blood.
• Donate food and clothing: If you can, there’s a pretty desperate need for clothing, medical supplies, baby items, and food at nearby shelters. Feeding Texas is working with local food banks to distribute supplies, with a heavy emphasis onnon-perishable food, bleach, and paper towels. Also, diapers are in HUGE demand right now – the Texas Diaper bank is seeking diaper donations. You can mail them to 5415 Bandera Road, Suite 504, San Antonio, Texas 78238 or drop them off at the same address if you’re local.
• Donate your time: Cleanup is going to be a monumental undertaking. The Austin Disaster Relief Network is asking folks to donate toiletries, inflatable mattresses, undergarments, and cleaning tools, and if you’re in the area and would like to sign up to volunteer or just drop off a donation, you can do so at the Hope Family Thrift Store in Austin.

Naming the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce Knowles and JAY-Z, Chris Rock and a few others, Hart backs up his own challenge by announcing that the first $25k would be coming from him directly. It would have been so easy to just donate quietly and leave others to their own devices, hoping that they’d follow suit but no; Kevin Hart saw an opportunity to do some real good and inspire generosity in those he knows have been as fortunate and successful as he, and that alone is more than worth its weight in gold.

If you’d like to join Kevin in his pursuit to help the fine folks suffering from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, above you’ll find a list of ways and places to donate your time, money, energy, and resources to. Don’t forget to pass it on!