AOC just raised $2 million for Texas relief: 'Always in awe of movement work'

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on Friday that she had raised over $2 million in relief efforts for the state of Texas. The donations, made by everyday citizens, will be split among five organizations, including The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Ending Community Homeless Coalition (ECHO), Family Eldercare, Houston Food Bank, and Feeding Texas. All five non-profits are currently working around the clock in order to assist those left without power as the state freezes over. The primary recipients will be homeless, hungry, and senior Texans in Travis and Dallas County, and beyond. While electricity has been restored in some parts of Texas, many are still stranded without heating and light, The Hill reports.

"We’ve now raised $2 MILLION in relief for Texans and are adding more organization," she posted on Twitter. "Let’s see how far we can go." Ocasio-Cortez also made a second announcement in the post. She wrote, "I’ll be flying to Texas today to visit with Houston Representative Sylvia R. Garcia to distribute supplies and help amplify needs and solutions." The Representative's fundraiser comes at a time when many have called for the resignation of leadership in Texas, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz. He evacuated the state with his two daughters and crossed the border to Cancun, Mexico.

He said in defense of his actions, "I was trying to be a dad. And all of us have made decisions—when you got two girls who have been cold for two days and haven’t had heat or power and they’re saying, ‘Hey look, we don’t have school, why don’t we go. Let’s get out of here.’" In stark contrast, Ocasio-Cortez mobilized all her available resources to help the folks of Texas, although she does not herself represent the residents of the state. She affirmed, "Charity isn’t a replacement for good governance, but we won’t turn away from helping people in need when things hit the fan. People understand that now is the time for collective action and doing what we can with whatever we’ve got."

The Representative was stunned by the amount of support that came flooding in when she first put out a call for contributions. She expressed in an earlier tweet, "Wow. We officially raised $1 million for Texas relief at 9:17 pm. Thank you all so much. I’m at a loss for words. Always in awe of movement work. [A percentage] of this relief is going straight to Texan food assistance, homelessness relief, elder care, and more." Her original target to hit $1 million at midnight.

In Texas, the unprecedented winter storm has devastated millions of residents and already left almost 50 dead. Millions are still left without power or water. This is because the storm left much of the state with freezing cold temperatures that have frozen water pipes in many homes and caused some to burst. Reportedly, dozens have died due to complications involving the arctic freeze. If you would like to help out, you can donate to Ocasio-Cortez's fundraiser here. 100% of your donation will go directly towards relief efforts.