TOPSHOT - People walk dogs through flooded streets as the effects of Hurricane Harvey are seen August 27, 2017 in Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Harvey left a trail of devastation Saturday after the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in over a decade slammed into Texas, destroying homes, severing power supplies and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
All five living former U.S. presidents have launched a new campaign to raise money for Hurricane Harvey relief.
“One America Appeal” was set up by former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama to “encourage their fellow citizens to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey — which inundated the Texas Gulf Coast with unprecedented flooding. This special appeal will be expanded to include Hurricane Irma now approaching the mainland United States,” according to the campaign’s website.
“Hurricane Harvey brought terrible destruction,” former President Bill Clinton says in the campaign video above. “But it also brought out the best in humanity.”
“As former presidents we want to help our fellow Americans begin to recover,” says former President Barack Obama.
“Our friends in Texas, including President Bush 41 and 43, are doing just that,” says former President Jimmy Carter.
“People are hurting down here,” says former President George W. Bush. “But as one Texas put it, we’ve got more love in Texas than water.”
“We love you, Texas,” says former President George H.W. Bush.
The campaign will also expand to include relief efforts for Hurricane Irma, which is heading towards Florida and the East Coast.
“What started as a specific appeal to address historic flood damage in Texas will be expanded to help victims from both storms. The nature of that assistance will be dictated in large measure by the storm’s track and impact,” the One America Appeal campaign said.
Shortly after the former presidents announced their fundraising effort, President Donald Trump tweeted:
We will confront ANY challenge, no matter how strong the winds or high the water. I’m proud to stand with Presidents for #OneAmericaAppeal.
All donations will the Houston Harvey Relief Fund and the Rebuild Texas Fund. The campaign said all will go into a special account at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and are tax-deductible.