Jaguars rookie Leonard Fournette tweets that he's donating $50K for Houston relief

Running back has personal connection after Katrina experience

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette tweeted on Wednesday that he was donating $50,000 to Houston after Hurricane Harvey dumped historic amounts of rain on the Texas Gulf Coast region.

Fournette was 10 years old when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. 

"I slept on a bridge for five nights, me and my entire family," Fournette said. "Just going through stores, hunting for food and medicine for my grandmother. It made me who I am."

Fournette said that he expects the Texans to be motivated for the opener as a rallying point for the city.

"That's tough times. I went through the same thing," Fournette said. "They're going to get through it, no matter what."

The Jaguars are scheduled to face the Texans in the regular season opener on Sept. 10 in Houston. However, the Texans final preseason game against the Cowboys, scheduled for Thursday, was canceled. Texans general manager Rick Smith said on Wednesday that the regular season opener against the Jaguars would be played in Houston.

Houston defensive star J.J. Watt started raising money for victims and beat his original goal of $200,000 in two hours. By Tuesday afternoon, money was coming in so fast that he raised the goal to $2 million. By Wednesday, he announced on Twitter that he had raised over $5.1 million and that the goal was now $6 million.

 

Others in the sports world have made contributions as well.  Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander says he'll up his donation to those affected by Hurricane Harvey to $10 million.

In Jacksonville, Robert Palmer, the owner of the city's pro soccer team, the Jacksonville Armada FC, announced that he would donated 100 percent of the revenue from the team's online ticket sales this week to the Red Cross to assist in relief efforts.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp asked those who wish to make donations of unopened hygiene products to do so at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville during the teams games Aug. 31 and Sept. 1

In the entertainment industry, such stars as Sandra Bullock and Kevin Hart have made donations and been public in support of donations for relief. The band, Coldplay, wrote a new song for Houston after the storms forced the cancellation of their concert in the city.

DONATE: How you can help the victims of Harvey

Individuals wanting to donate to organizations such as the American Red Cross or Salvation Army can do so online.