Beyoncé offers financial help to Texas residents hit by winter storm Uri

Beyoncé is once again stepping up to help those in need in her home state of Texas and beyond. On Thursday night, Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Impact Fund announced they were partnering with Adidas and Bread of Life to provide relief in the form of grants up to $1,000 for those affected by winter storm Uri.

“We send our prayers to those impacted by the winter storm,” wrote the BeyGOOD Twitter account. Texans, as well as residents in other states like Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon and Louisiana, which have also been impacted by the storm, can apply for a grant.

Beyoncé’s charitable partnership with Adidas comes only days after the multi-talented entertainer announced her latest Ivy Park collaboration with the sportswear brand, teasing the Icy Park winter apparel line on her social media (available Feb 19). Beyoncé and BeyGOOD have previously worked with Bread of Life on anti-hunger campaigns. 

The Houston native and her foundation have a long history of offering aid to those in need. Most recently, the charity has provided funding to Black-owned small businesses, helped set up mobile COVID-19 testing centers in Houston, and has supplied financial assistance to those impacted by the housing crisis caused by the pandemic. In November, BeyGOOD also helped bring attention to the devastation of Hurricane Iota and Hurricane Eta in Central America, which together cost close to 300 lives.

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On February 14, President Biden declared a state of emergency in Texas and authorized FEMA to begin coordinating disaster relief efforts. The decision was made three days after the deep freeze set into Texas, which put unprecedented stress on the state’s energy grid as residents tried to stay warm in their homes. The demand for energy led to state-wide power outages, with many parts of Texas attempting to control the situation with rolling black and brownouts that have lasted for days. 

Pictures and videos of car pile-ups, frozen ceiling fans and toilets, iced-over interior floors, and damage caused by burst pipes have been shared widely on social media. Many Texas residents have been forced to stand outside in freezing rain for hours while waiting to fill jugs with clean water and access fuel for propane tanks. Four million Texans were without power on Tuesday, a number that is only slowly going down as many are forced to retreat to hotels or warming centers, which pose a unique set of risks during the pandemic. As of Thursday, seven million Texans remain under a boil water advisory after sanitation plants lost power.

Texas is the only state that has its own power grid, which means it’s unable to pull power from neighboring states. Governor Greg Abbott said this week that he will push forward legislation to reform Texas’ electrical power structure. At this time, officials will not provide an estimate as to when power will be reinstated state-wide.

Winter storm Uri has already resulted in at least 30 deaths caused by car accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning as residents have begun burning household goods and sitting in their cars for extended periods in an effort to stay warm. At an animal sanctuary in San Antonio, as least 12 animals have died as a result of the cold temperatures. 

Icy and snow-covered highways have also disrupted the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to Texas and other states. Churches, shelters, and furniture stores have opened their doors as warming centers to help save residents from hypothermia, but these efforts bring possible increased exposure to COVID as social distancing and hand washing without running water becomes increasingly difficult.

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