Music

Beyonce donates $82,000 to Flint, Michigan water crisis

by Richard Howard

Since 2014, the residents of Flint, Michigan have been dealing with a (completely unavoidable) water shortage crisis. For some reason (money), the city switched its water supply to the famously polluted Flint River, then despite residents’ complaints claimed the water was absolutely safe. That is, until drastically elevated lead levels were observed in young Flint residents. By that point, there was no recourse but to declare a state of emergency as the city was left without any source of drinking water.

Artists including Jack White, Pearl Jam, Big Sean, Meek Mill and Stevie Wonder joined Flint-born celebrities like Michael Moore and Sandra Bernhard in drawing attention to the situation and raising money to help the city. Cher even teamed with bottled water company Icelandic Glacial to donate a sorely needed 180,000 bottles of water.

While Cher may have been the first, she’s not the only diva to step up to the plate. Beyoncé’s entertainment and management company Parkwood Entertainment recently announced a donation of $82,234.92 to the United Way of Genesee County, of which Flint is the population centre.

The money was raised by Beyoncé’s fans through her #BEYGOOD initiative. A major part of the outreach plan asked fans to donate through CrowdRise when buying tickets to her Formation World Tour which would enter them into a draw to win VIP passes. Unsurprising, the Beyhive came out in droves, helping to create the sizeable donation. Parkwood added that 14 Michigan students received ‘college gifts’ to help with academic expenses.

[h/t Pitchfork]