J.Lo is leading by example.
At a Sunday press conference with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, singer Jennifer Lopez announced that she would be donating $1 million to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, joined the governor, Mets pitcher Seth Lugo, and actress Rosie Perez to launch a statewide collection for Puerto Rico. She asked Americans to join their effort, saying, “Puerto Ricans are American citizens and today Puerto Rico needs our help. Hurricane Maria has devastated our island.”
#PuertoRico needs our help. Thank you @JLo for joining us today. Https://t.co/VFHVcMu4To
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 24, 2017
Lopez also took to Instagram last week, urging her followers to contribute to the efforts of the first lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló at UnitedForPuertoRico.com. The singer is also collaborating with singer and ex-husband Marc Antony, baseball player and significant other Alex Rodriguez, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and Dallas Mavericks player J.J. Barea to coordinate aid efforts.
Read: Puerto Rico’s Economy Was a Mess Before Hurricane Maria. It Will Only Make Recovery Harder
The statewide effort launched by Governor Cuomo will include collection and financial support. All donations will be stored at the Javits Center in Manhattan and then delivered by JetBlue, which has also donated $1 million in services to the effort.
In a dig at President Trump’s response to the NFL protests, Cuomo called on his “colleagues in the federal government” to focus on helping Americans, “instead of arguing with football players.” He noted that the road to recovery for Puerto Rico would be long and costly and encouraged state and federal support, saying, “we can save lives.”