Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Raise $26M for Puerto Rico Relief Efforts
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were able to amass $26 million to aid the devastated island of Puerto Rico.
The singer and the former professional baseball player gathered the said amount through pledges from various companies on top of the couple's personal donations, according to Lopez's spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Lopez and Rodriguez along with the "Ain't Your Mama" singer's ex-husband, Marc Anthony, also collected another $9 million in donations and proceeds from a benefit concert they hosted on Oct. 14 called "One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert for Disaster Relief."
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This brought the total of their relief efforts fund to $35 million.
Lopez and Anthony were undoubtedly determined to help Puerto Rico since it is the country both their parents were from before coming to the United States. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is from the Dominican Republic.
In a statement (via Entertainment Tonight), Lopez said: "With the disasters and tragedies befalling us almost weekly, and the swirling negativity dividing our country, it was gratifying to see people of all ages, races and background come together to support and help those in need."
She added: "Alex and I were amazed by the amount of love, unity and donations that were received. And I am personally overcome with gratitude for all the incredible artists and talent who showed up in both Los Angeles and Miami to perform, answer phones or lend their services."
Lopez also mentioned that they were grateful for the efforts being made but there were also a number of things left to be done.
In the last couple of months, Puerto Rico and various islands in the Caribbean were devastated with powerful hurricanes such as Irma and Maria.
Weeks after the said tragedies happened to Puerto Rico, the nation is yet to get back up from their effects, such as loss of electricity and the inability to access clean drinking water.
Meanwhile, recent reports also noted that the number of related deaths is rising while there is a chance for survivors to develop severe diseases such as leptospirosis due to the current living conditions on the island.
