Beyoncé and Other Houston Celebrities Give Back During Coronavirus Crisis

You can learn a lot about a celebrity not by their red carpet outfits or the awards lining their shelves, but by how they use their fame to do good. And Houston’s celebrities shine pretty darn bright, with several stepping up to give back to the community during the current pandemic.
Earlier this week, Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles, launched #IDIDMYPART, a new campaign aimed at increasing mobile coronavirus testing among Houston’s African American community, which has seen a higher national infection rate than other minority groups. The campaign, which is sponsored by Beyoncé’s BeyGood organization, will donate 1,000 COVID-19 test kits along with face masks, gloves, vitamins, and household supplies to those who visit certain designated mobile testing sites this weekend.
The new campaign follows news that Queen Bey and Megan Thee Stallion will be donating the proceeds of their “Savage” remix to Bread of Life, Inc., as well as the “Formation” singer’s previous $6 million donation to several charitable organizations across the country, including Union Memorial Medical Center and NAMI Greater Houston.
But she’s not the only one showing the true meaning of #HoustonStrong. In March, Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt and his wife, former Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai, donated $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank, which has been distributing 750,000 to 1 million pounds of food daily during the pandemic. Also in March, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman launched a fundraising campaign called FEEDHOU to help feed Houstonians during the crisis and pledged $100,000 to the cause (the campaign increased its goal from $1 million to $2 million at the end of last month).
Bregman’s teammate, shortstop Carlos Correa, along with Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, and rapper and COVID-19 survivor Slim Thug joined Mayor Sylvester Turner to promote the city’s grassroots public health campaign #MaskUp on April 23, while “Truth Hurts” singer Lizzo sent lunch to hospital workers around the country.
Meanwhile, several of Houston’s fashion designers have switched to making masks for emergency personnel, and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale offered free meals to struggling families and homebound seniors.
Way to make Houston proud, ya’ll.