You are reading

AOC Helps Raise $4 Million for Texas Relief Effort, Visits The Troubled State

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Houston distributing food and water to Texans in need (twitter@aoc)

Feb. 22, 2021 By Christina Santucci

Queens Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has helped raise more than $4 million for relief efforts in Texas, where a winter storm and ensuing power outages wreaked havoc last week.

Ocasio-Cortez announced the fundraising milestone in a tweet Saturday. Donations will be split evenly among 12 food banks and organizations that help the homeless.

“These groups are working around the clock to assist houseless, hungry and senior Texans in Travis and Dallas County, and beyond,” the fundraiser page states.

Ocasio-Cortez flew to Texas Friday, and visited food distributions, water delivery sites and the homes of impacted residents Saturday with fellow U.S. Reps. Sylvia R. Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, who represent Houston.

“Charity isn’t a replacement for good governance, but we won’t turn away from helping people in need when things hit the fan,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

Meanwhile, Queens community groups also organized their own fundraisers for Texans, using the hashtag: QNSLovesTexas.

For instance, the Sunnyside-Woodside Mutual Aid Network teamed up with eight other organizations collected raised more than $6,000. The organizations wrapped up the drive once they reached their goal, but asked residents who wanted to donate to give directly to the six Texas organizations that received the funds they raised.

The winter storm led to dozens of deaths in Texas, and knocked out power for millions of people in the state for days. At one point, four million people were without power, and 14 million Texas residents still didn’t have running water or were under boil water notices as of Saturday.

There are also reports of widespread property damage across the state as water pipes froze or burst. President Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration Friday for 77 counties in Texas, which allows impacted residents to file for federal assistance to cover temporary lodging, home repairs and uninsured property losses.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.