When country music star Kenny Chesney lost his Virgin Islands home to Hurricane Irma, he didn’t get mad. He got even.
First, he created the Love for Love City Foundation, which provides disaster relief for hurricane victims living in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
“I’ve never been in war, but the devastation, the people’s faces in a place I know by heart, have left me feeling helpless,” Chesney said. “It’s total devastation.”
Donations can be submitted online or via check, money order or even cash, according to the foundation’s website.
But the singer didn’t stop there. A few days later, he sent his private jet to rescue teens struggling to be reunited with their mother in Philadelphia.
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Their ordeal started almost immediately. The grandfather of Jah-Haile and Jahbioseh Bruce added the two to a national evacuation registry that would help them relocate by boat to St. Croix. From there, they were to board a commercial flight to Philadelphia.
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Unfortunately, the hurricane made that final leg of their journey impossible.
"The wind picked up the bottom of [our] house and threw it on top of the rest of the house and closed it like a sandwich," Jah-Haile Bruce told NBC10.
The brothers hid in the bathtub and waited for the worst to pass. When it did, leaving the island became their top concern. And that's when Chesney stepped in.
The brothers were told an anonymous donor had sent his private plane to transport them back to the U.S., but they later found out the aircraft belonged to Chesney.
"Kenny Chesney, thank you so much," Bruce said of his rescuer. "I really want to meet you in person. I want to give you a hug and meet you in person."
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
