There has been no shortage of donations to the victims of Hurricane Harvey to this point, with many famous names like Beyonce and J.J. Watt doing the best with their status to help those affected in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. Jimmy Fallon and a lot of late night television were off over the labor day holiday, seemingly missing a chance to use their television shows to make a difference. That doesn’t mean they’re chained to television in order to do good, but it does reach a far wider audience.
Fallon tried to make the most of it, using the return of his show to announce a $1 million donation, giving a touching statement to the studio audience and those watching at home saying, “last week we saw the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey on the state of Texas. But in the face of this tragedy we saw good.” Mattress Mack gets a shout out, the several people shown rescuing those in need during the flooding get one too, but J.J. Watt ends up being hoisted up as one of the key heroes of the catastrophe.
That’s where The Tonight Show‘s $1 million will be going, adding to Watt’s fundraiser that has raised $18 million to supply those affected with food and water. Fallon also invited a Houston choir and singers Victoria White and Marquist Taylor to the show to sing Bill Wither’s classic “Lean On Me.” White and Marquist were the focus of another video shared in the aftermath of Harvey’s destruction, visiting a storm shelter to sing for those displaced by the storm. It was a powerful clip that got the pair a lot of media attention, but more importantly brought a lot of smiles to people’s faces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuBQLiuGQvY
(Via The Tonight Show)