Kenny Chesney Explains Mission of His 'Love'
Everyone's heart is in the right place when they donate to a good cause. But when tragedy strikes, good hearts and good causes aren't always enough.
Kenny Chesney has seen first hand what that's like when charity work doesn't work, and he's committed to doing something about it.
"Getting supplies in is hard," Chesney said in a press release. "Finding places for workers to stay is even harder now that Hurricane Maria has done so much damage to St. Croix. Because it's so hard to get even the basic supplies in, let alone the news media, people really aren't seeing how devastating these hurricanes have been."
Chesney has been living like a local in the Virgin Islands for the past 20 years, and on Friday (Sept. 22), he announced new ways to support his Love for Love City charitable organization, which gets monetary donations and materials to the people who truly need them.
"Food? Water? Medical care? These things are all in an emergency state. That's where we have to start... and it's going to take time, careful thought and making some good decisions. But the number of meetings, calls and conferences I've been in or on over the last several days? It's an education, but it's also part of doing this in a way that will matter.
"Right now, making sure the people in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands aren't forgotten in all the other equally troubling stories is critical."
In a letter on Chesney's website, he says, "These are people who live off the sea, who depend on it. They live right there, and it's gone. Most everyone's displaced. They are frightened, confused, and they don't know where help is going to come from. Those lives have changed and will never be the same. Those small islands are hard to get to and they rely on each other to get through what life hands them. For all of them, though, they've been where I've leaned for emotional and creative support for fifteen years because they are so generous."