JJ Watt issues call to help Houston as Harvey lashes southeast Texas

HOUSTON – Houston Texans star J.J. Watt is calling on the world to help Houston as Harvey slams southeast Texas.

“I’m sitting here watching the news, checking the internet for everything that’s going on with Hurricane Harvey and the damage it’s causing back home. It’s very difficult,” Watt said in a video posted to Twitter. “It’s very difficult not only because we have family and friends back there. Some guys have young kids, some have wives and families. That’s our city. It’s very tough to watch our city get hit by such a bad storm and not being there to help.”

The celebrity defensive end posted the video on social media Sunday asking for donations to help with recovery following the storm.

“What I do want to do is -- I want to start fundraising because I know these recovery efforts are going to be massive,” Watt said. “I know there’s going to be a whole bunch of people we’ll need to help get back on their feet and I know there’s going to be a lot we need to do to rebuild.”

Watt posted a link to a YouCaring page where people can donate funds to aid the recovery effort. The campaign has already raised $156,861, as of this writing.

Watt donated $100,000 of his own money with this message: "Houston, we're in this together."

Watt ended the video with this: “You can donate something small. If you can donate something big. Whatever you can donate, please donate to help these people out. Houston’s a great city. We’re going to come out of this stronger than ever. But we’re going to need a lot of money to help these people rebuild. So if you can donate, please donate. Everybody in Houston, stay safe. … Stay safe, we’re thinking about you. We’re going to come back. We’re going to help you out."

Watch the full video below: