JJ Watt raises more than $11M for Hurricane Harvey victims
The NFL star began a fundraiser earlier this week.
— -- J.J. Watt has surpassed his goal of raising $10 million for Hurricane Harvey victims.
The Houston Texans star tweeted Wednesday that he hoped to reach $10 million, and by midday Thursday, his YouCaring fundraiser had already spiked past $11 million.
That amount included a $200,000 donation from rapper Drake and a $1 million donation from Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart, both of which were posted Thursday.
"I can't say thank you enough. Celebrities, musicians, athletes, kids with their lemonade stands and people hosting fundraisers, businesses donating -- I cannot thank everybody enough," Watt said in a video. "My focus is very much on getting this money directly back to the people."
"All of the money will go to the J.J. Watt Foundation, a certified 501c3, and then distributed from there," a spokesperson for Watt wrote to ABC News.
Watt, 28, launched his fundraiser on Sunday, and at the time hoped to raise $200,000. He has said that the money will go toward purchasing basic supplies including food, water and clothing, which he and his teammates will distribute in and around the Houston area.
Currently, he said, there are semi-trucks being filled with supplies which are set to be delivered imminently.
"It’s unbelievable," Watt said on "Good Morning America" Tuesday about the response he received. "The biggest part of it all is being able to see the power of what can happen when people come together. I think that’s the beauty of the people in this country: When they see somebody going through a tough time they all rally around. It’s pretty incredible and we’re going to be able to do a lot of great things to help rebuild this city, and we’re trying to raise as much as we can because we know these recovery efforts are going to be massive."
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