Black Voicesrussell simmonsflint michiganBlack Voices

Russell Simmons Joins Pledge To Provide One Million Water Bottles To Flint

The mogul spent Monday in Flint delivering water and talking to locals.
Open Image Modal
By 

Pop Culture Editor, HuffPost

|
Open Image Modal
Russell Simmons teams up with AQUAhydrate to donate water to Flint residents on February 1. Simmons donated 150,000 bottles of water to Flint as part of Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg’s one million bottle pledge.
Instagram

Russell Simmons, who last week called for the prosecution of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, is contributing to the recovery effort in Flint.

On Monday, Simmons teamed up with his prepaid debit card company, RushCard, to deliver 150,000 water bottles to local residents. He also attended a town hall meeting about the city’s ongoing crisis. During an interview with CBS Detroit, the hip hop mogul and philanthropist empathized the importance of celebrities helping Flint residents:

We want to reach out to them first and let them know … we are trying to deliver bottled water and we are trying to push for change, we have to figure out who is responsible, and negligence is a funny thing -- if you drive your car and you run into a kid by mistake you can go to jail, that’s negligence, here is a place where we were aware there was danger, and possibly the governor should be brought up on charges.

Simmons documented his visit by posting photos on his Instagram account.

Simmons joins Eminem, Wiz Khalifa, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg as apart of AQUAhydrate's long-term pledge to donate water bottles to Flint until clean water is restored.  

Also on HuffPost:

Here Are All The People Coming Together To Support Flint
Cher(01 of14)
Open Image Modal
The pop diva led the pack when she sent 181,000 bottles of water to Flint residents. (credit:Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
Pearl Jam(02 of14)
Open Image Modal
Pearl Jam donated $125,000 to the United Way of Genesee County, and persuaded a group of friends and partners, including Ticketmaster, to give an additional $175,000. They also set up a CrowdRise page that has pulled in over $350,000. (credit:Peter Still via Getty Images)
Wisconsin Churches(03 of14)
Open Image Modal
A group of churches in Racine, Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wisconsin came together to collect and donate 72,000 cans of water to Flint. (credit:Raymond Boyd via Getty Images)
Girl Scouts(04 of14)
Open Image Modal
Brownie Girl Scout Troop 71729 sent letters to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) asking him to take action for Flint residents. "I am so mad," one Girl Scout wrote. "Flint's water is not good for kids to drink and eat. It is lead," wrote another member. (credit:Rick Kern via Getty Images)
Who Is Hussain?(05 of14)
Open Image Modal
The Michigan-based Muslim charity Who Is Hussain? has donated 30,000 bottles of water to Flint. (credit:Who Is Hussain)
Detroit Lions(06 of14)
Open Image Modal
A group of Lions team members, led by defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, donated 94,000 bottles of water to Flint. (credit:Mark Cunningham via Getty Images)
Mark Wahlberg and Sean 'Diddy' Combs(07 of14)
Open Image Modal
Wahlberg and Diddy may seem an unlikely duo, but they are both part-owners of a bottled water company called AQUAhydrate. The two contributed a combined donation of 1 million water bottles. (credit:Noel Vasquez via Getty Images)
AT&T(08 of14)
Open Image Modal
Telecommunications firm AT&T, which is based in Detroit, donated $50,000 to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint for water relief efforts. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jimmy Fallon(09 of14)
Open Image Modal
The TV host donated $10,000 and asked 10 friends to match his donation on Twitter. (credit:Mike Segar / Reuters)
Madonna(10 of14)
Open Image Modal
Madonna was one of the celebrities who responded to Jimmy Fallon's challenge. She announced on Instagram that she will donate $10,000 to Flint residents. (credit:Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)
Anheuser-Busch(11 of14)
Open Image Modal
The beer giant is sending 50,000 cans (of water!) to Flint that are set to arrive in the first week of February. (credit:Doug McKay/HMS Group via Getty Images)
Meek Mill(12 of14)
Open Image Modal
Rapper Meek Mill (Nicki Minaj's boyfriend) sent 60,000 bottles of water and an "undisclosed lump sum of money" to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. (credit:Kevork Djansezian / Reuters)
Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark(13 of14)
Open Image Modal
The founder of Craigslist announced a "Water for Flint" challenge on CrowdRise, in which he pledged to send 100 cases of water to the United Way of Southeastern Michigan for every $20 donation his campaign received. (credit:Robert Galbraith / Reuters)
How To Help(14 of14)
Open Image Modal
If you'd like to help the residents of Flint, consider donating to the United Way or the Red Cross. Or you can offer to volunteer for the Flint Water Response Team. Check out more ways to contribute here. (credit:Dennis Pajot via Getty Images)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip