The rebuilding of Moore, Okla. after tornados tore through the city will take time. The aftermath is devastating as most of the town was reduced to rubble. Now, relief is on the way. Thunder star Kevin Durant has been one of the first-high profiled figured to lend his support to the relief aid being helmed by the Red Cross. Durant personally donated $1 million to the regional Red Cross and now he is getting Nike to pitch in as well.
Durant's immediate contribution has sparked an outpouring of other charitable donations. The Oklahoma City Thunder matched Durant's donation. Both the NBA and the players Association followed with the same amount. Emmanuel Bailey, president of Durant's charity foundation, said about $7.5 million has been donated as a response to Durant's first contribution.
The All-star is doing as much as he can to help, including reaching out to his endorsers for aid. He announced on Twitter that Nike would be donating $1 million worth of products and apparel to Oklahoma residents affected by the tornados. They will also donate profits made from Durant's signature show to relief efforts.
Durant took things a step further by taking a personal tour of Moore, surveying the destruction first hand. He met with residents and helped sort through the damage and rubble. Durant downplayed his contributions to the effort, saying that he was just trying to help out his home.
"A national disaster is something that we can't control at all. And to have it hit so close to home-I call Oklahoma City my home now-it's tough to go through. But we're a city that comes together and we'll bounce back from this. It's tough. It's tough right now. But the sun's gonna shine soon. So we've just got to stick together," Durant said.
Durant stressed that he just wanted to do anything and everything he could to help out.The 24-yard has certainly sparked a wave of relief. Country music star Blake Shelton is helping organize a relief concert for Moore. The lineup for the show will be announced soon and is set to air on NBC in the coming week. All donations will go to the regional Red Cross.