Jennifer Lopez donates $1 million to support Puerto Rico
Jennifer Lopez is spearheading a major effort to help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico, and she's starting with a donation of $1 million to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The 48-year-old singer and actress -- who revealed last week she hasn't heard from her family on the island since a series of hurricanes hit the area -- has reached out with financial aid and says she and her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez are doing everything they can to help.
Speaking during a press conference with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, she said first in Spanish, and then in English: "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."
The "On the Floor" hitmaker revealed the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball have pledged to help in a major way, while she and her ex-husband Marc Anthony -- the father of her nine-year-old twins Max and Emme -- have been working to mobilize over 30 athletes and artists to quickly get aid to Mexico and the Caribbean.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and player J.J. Barea have been working with Lopez and have two planes of help and generators ready to fly to Puerto Rico.
She added: "We are working day and night to identify the needs."
During the press conference, the "Shades of Blue" star admitted she still hasn't heard from her family and she is "concerned," for both her own loved ones and "everyone on the island."
Lopez previously used Instagram to urge her fans to help the aid efforts in Puerto Rico.
She said: "What's on my mind is what's going on in Puerto Rico. The devastation is beyond belief ... Me and my cousin still haven't been able to hear from our families over there."
The singer, who has helped fund medical facilities in Puerto through her Lopez Family Foundation, asked her fans to donate and "help rebuild" the island.
She continued: "Today, Puerto Rico needs our help. I urge you to support and donate to the efforts of the First Lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Areizaga ... Together we can help rebuild our island, and the Caribbean."
On Sunday, Puerto Rico's nonvoting representative in the U.S. Congress said that Hurricane Maria's destruction has set Puerto Rico back decades, even as authorities worked to assess the extent of the damage.
"The devastation in Puerto Rico has set us back nearly 20 to 30 years," said Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonzalez. "I can't deny that the Puerto Rico of now is different from that of a week ago. The destruction of properties, of flattened structures, of families without homes, of debris everywhere. The island's greenery is gone."
Engineers on Sunday planned to inspect the roughly 90-year-old Guajataca Dam, which holds back a reservoir covering about 2 square miles in northwest Puerto Rico. The government said it suffered a large crack after Maria dumped 15 inches of rain on the surrounding mountains and that it "will collapse at any minute." Nearby residents had been evacuated, but began returning to their homes Saturday after a spillway eased pressure on the dam.