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hurricane harvey

Watch this awesome video of an NFL quarterback paying it forward to Harvey victims.

Once in need of help himself, Deshaun Watson knows the power of paying it forward.

When Deshaun Watson was 11 years old, an NFL star came to his rescue. Now in the NFL himself, Watson's been paying it forward ever since.

In November 2006, Watson, his mother, and three siblings moved into a home built by Habitat for Humanity and furnished by NFL running back Warrick Dunn in Gainesville, Georgia. The act of charity, which helped his family get back on their feet after years living in public housing, shaped the man he grew up to be.

During his time as a star quarterback at Clemson University, Watson helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity, singing the organization's praises all the way. As someone who had benefitted from charity, he knew just how big a difference it could make in the life of someone else.

Watson scores a touchdown, leading the Clemson Tigers to victory in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

Today, Watson is a rookie with the NFL's Houston Texans. When Hurricane Harvey hit, he knew he wanted to find a way to give back to those affected.

Watson decided to give his first game paycheck to some of the stadium employees affected by Hurricane Harvey.

A video posted to the Texans' social media platforms shows Watson as he meets with three very surprised cafeteria workers who were hit hard by the storm. He hands each of them an envelope bound with red ribbon containing one-third of his first paycheck. Their shocked responses are both wonderful and inspiring.

All GIFs from Houston Texans/Facebook.

[rebelmouse-image 19531772 dam="1" original_size="450x253" caption=""Thank you so much."" expand=1]"Thank you so much."

According to ESPN, Watson's base salary for the 2017 season is $465,000, making his first game check worth $27,353. Meaning each cafeteria worker got $9,117.67.

Watson is not the only Texan to answer the call in response to the storm. Teammate J.J. Watt launched a wildly successful crowdfunding effort that raised more than $37 million for Harvey's victims.

Watson's donation and his commitment to charity shows the ripple effect that can come out of one good deed.

We may not all be pro athletes able to give thousands of dollars to people who need it, but there are ways that each of us can help one another and make the world a better place. Small acts of kindness can snowball into life-changing moments years down the line.

[rebelmouse-image 19531773 dam="1" original_size="450x253" caption=""Hopefully, that's good and that can get you back on your feet."" expand=1]"Hopefully, that's good and that can get you back on your feet."

[rebelmouse-image 19531774 dam="1" original_size="450x253" caption=""And anything else y'all need, I'm always here to help."" expand=1]"And anything else y'all need, I'm always here to help."

Charity and kindness take many forms, all powerful in their own way. Watson demonstrated the power of paying it forward with his donation, making himself available to help those in need.

Watch the emotional moment when Watson delivers his game check to the three unsuspecting cafeteria employees below.

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16 more extraordinary examples of humanity at its best after Harvey and Irma.

Disaster can bring out the best in humanity.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have passed, leaving trails of devastation and destruction in their wake. Recovery from both storms will take months, if not years, but around the world, everyday people are stepping up to help out friends, neighbors, and strangers however they can.

After Harvey, we collected a list of 11 examples of hurricane heroism. Now that both storms have run their course, here's a look at 16 more spectacular gestures of kindness. Each one is a testament to the generosity of the human spirit and a reminder that when bad things happen, there will always be ways we can help.

This photo shows people in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

1. A group of Syrian refugees living in Georgia delivered home-cooked meals to Irma evacuees.

They knew what it was like to need the help of others and just wanted to give back.

2. A group of helpful neighbors came to the rescue of one Ormond Beach, Florida, woman, saving her personal belongings from a collapsing house.

3. NBC's Kerry Sanders was reporting from Marco Island when he spotted another man helping two beached baby dolphins.

The dramatic rescue was caught on film.

4. Kimberly Gager of San Antonio put her extreme couponing skills to great use to help people who were hit by Hurricane Harvey.

She began saving coupons she would have ordinarily thrown away, using them to buy diapers, formula, and other baby supplies, which she donated.

5. Florida's Islamorada Beer Company got to work bottling water, raising money, and transporting supplies down to the Florida Keys to help people hit by Irma.

If the beer tastes a little watered down, that's because it is.

6. Mike and Kathy Merrill of Florida Urgent Rescue pulled double duty, helping save dogs displaced by both Harvey and Irma.

7. Blink-182's Mark Hoppus recorded a song called "Not Every Dog Goes to Heaven" for the ASPCA benefit album "Dog Songs."

Profits from the album will help the ASPCA save dogs affected by Hurricane Harvey. Rock on, Mark.

Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for Turner Sports.

8. A collection of sailors and cruisers joined up to help islands hit by Irma. They call themselves Sailors Helping.

They're working in conjunction with local government and volunteer groups to facilitate immediate aid. In the long term, they're planning a Rally to Rebuild, in which hundreds of boaters will bring a habitat-for-humanity style armada of boats and volunteers to various islands hit by Hurricane Irma.

Image courtesy of Tory Fine/Sailors Helping.

9. Remember the heartwarming story about a man who gave up the last generator at a Florida store? When one became available later that day, the store's manager gave it to the generous stranger for free.

A good deed is its own reward, but this certainly helps too.

10. As Irma evacuees made their way out of Florida, one Georgia man decided to throw them a cookout.

Chad Harrison of Valdosta, Georgia, was a sight for sore eyes for hungry people fleeing Florida. In total, he was able to help feed around 2,000 evacuees.

11. A billionaire immigrant named Kieu Hoang donated $5 million to Harvey relief efforts, saying, "We are all American."

This might be one of the largest (if not the largest) individual donations anyone's made in response to the recent hurricanes.

12. Millionaire Marc Bell opened up his $30 million, 27,000-square-foot home to 70 foster kids affected by Irma.

Bell says he got a call from SOS Children's Village Florida with a request for help after they'd been kicked out of their shelters. Bell offered up his home.

13. Animal control, along with a few brave neighbors, helped rescue five dogs trapped in fire-ant-infested waters in Lakeland, Florida.

People helping people helping doggos are the best kind of people.

14. Royal Caribbean cruise line sent two of its ships to Caribbean islands hit by Irma to help evacuees, and Norwegian Cruise Line sent a ship to St. Thomas packed with supplies.

After canceling numerous cruises due to the storm, the vacation companies had a bit of free time on their hands.

15. When Irma left a group of manatees stranded near Whitfield, Florida, a group of locals helped move the majestic sea cows back into the water.

Right on.

16. After taking home first place at the DreamHack Montreal Street Fighter V tournament, professional gamer Du Dang donated his $10,000 in winnings to Irma relief efforts.

Originally from Tampa, he wanted to give back to his hometown during its time of need.

It's easy to think of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as being disasters that are now behind us, but the truth is that the real work is just beginning.

As the above examples demonstrate, there are a lot of really unique and creative ways to help out in the storms' aftermath. If you're looking for a way to get involved in the relief efforts, here's a great place to get started.

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10 things that made us smile this week - Upworthy ›

President Trump won't address climate change, so Beyoncé will

Beyoncé's been giving back to her hometown of Houston as it digs out from under the disaster that was Hurricane Harvey.

After Harvey left Houston a flooded mess, the singer teamed up with some local organizations to help bring attention to the disaster relief efforts and making a few on-the-ground appearances herself. Disaster relief is nothing new for Beyoncé — in 2005, she set up the Survivor Foundation to help victims of Hurricane Katrina — so it didn't come as a huge surprise that she took such a hands-on approach when Houston needed her.

It was during the Hand in Hand charity telethon, however, that Beyoncé addressed an underlying issue that many in our own government aren't willing to tackle: climate change.

More than $44 million for disaster relief was raised during the Hand in Hand telethon, but it was Beyoncé's powerful statement that made headlines the morning after.

Stating the obvious — that natural disasters don't care about the color your skin is, the religion you practice, or how much money you've got in your checking account — Beyoncé segued into a message about the long-term effects of climate change. Citing a number of recent disasters, which, mind you, aren't in themselves proof of climate change but are what we can look forward to if we don't take swift action, she called on viewers to "come together in a collective effort to raise our voices, to help our communities, to lift our spirits, and heal" before it's too late.

GIFs from Beyoncé/YouTube.

Make no mistake about it: Climate change has been and will continue to disparately harm poor communities and people of color.

Anyone can be hit by a natural disaster, but poorer countries and poorer parts of the U.S. are less equipped to be able to effectively prepare for or recover from tragedy. Many people can't afford to just pack up their belongings and move out of harm's way or rebuild homes destroyed by storm winds and debris. Fights against racism, climate change, and income inequality are inextricably linked; it's why a number of groups have taken an intersectional approach on so many of these topics.

Climate change is very real. In December, more than 800 climate scientists signed a letter urging then-President-elect Trump to address the climate crisis just waiting to happen. Since then, Trump has appointed a climate denier to head the Environmental Protection agency, pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, and rolled back dozens of common sense regulations meant to protect our fragile planet.

If scientists can't get through to deniers, maybe Beyoncé can. We're entering an all-hands-on-deck kind of era when it comes to fighting climate change, so let's get in formation.

Watch Beyoncé's powerful message from the Hand in Hand benefit below.

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This is about so much more than a single storm. It's about humanity.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, people around the country joined forces to help the relief efforts, with the city of Houston taking on a big role.

The Texas city, just a few hundred miles down Interstate 10, stepped up and provided support for New Orleans evacuees. Houston's Astrodome was repurposed into a shelter, area school districts adapted to meet new demand, and both local celebrities and everyday citizens donated time, money, and housing for those in need.

It was a perfect example of one city coming to another's aid in a challenging time.

Hurricane Katrina evacuees set up in Houston's Astrodome stadium in September 2005. Photo by Menahem Khana/AFP/Getty Images.

12 years later, as Houston reels from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, New Orleans wants the city to know that it hasn't forgotten the powerful display of love and generosity.

The City of New Orleans took out a full page ad in the Sept. 10 edition of the Houston Chronicle, a screenshot of which was posted to Twitter by Chronicle editor Matt Schwartz.

Addressed "To our friends in Texas," the letter provides a powerful, heartfelt message of support and encouragement as Houston prepares for its own post-hurricane recovery efforts after Harvey tore through the city.

The letter reads:

The letter serves as a reminder of one of life's most universal truths: We all need help from time to time.

Katrina, Harvey, and Irma can bury our cities under water and wash away our property, but they cannot take away our humanity. These tragedies are mitigated by our ability to dig deep down within ourselves and let the empathy within us shine through. Just as New Orleans needed Houston, Houston now needs New Orleans — one day, you can be a thriving city and the next, you can be wrecked through no fault of your own.

Empathy and generosity are key to survival and success. If you're in a position where you can help someone out, hopefully you'll do that. If you're in a position where you're the one in need of help, hopefully you'll find the courage to ask for it.

Together, we will weather life's storms as best as humanly possible.

A woman is rescued from her flooded home after Hurricane Katrina. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

A dad couldn't get home after Harvey. So he went to class with his daughter.

"Mommy come get him."

Enock Anassi lives in Houston, but he wasn't home when Hurricane Harvey hit.

He was in New York with his wife helping their daughter, Kerubo, get settled in at graduate school. That's when Harvey made landfall, and the severe flooding that followed made flying back into the Houston area a no-go.

So Enock stayed put. At his daughter's school. And went to class with her.

Enock's son, Omete, posted selfies his dad sent him from where he sat in the back row of class with Kerubo.

[rebelmouse-image 19531245 dam="1" original_size="864x646" caption=""In class called ... oral history @ new school. Kerubo behind me" Photo via Omete Amassi/Twitter." expand=1]"In class called ... oral history @ new school. Kerubo behind me" Photo via Omete Amassi/Twitter.

Enock even introduced himself to the class, gathered a syllabus, followed along, and quizzed his daughter on the material while the professor lectured.

It was a grand old time ... for Enock. Kerubo, on the other hand, was dying of embarrassment.

"Mommy come get him," she wrote in a frantic group text with her family.

[rebelmouse-image 19531246 dam="1" original_size="363x648" caption="Image via Omete Anassi/Twitter." expand=1]Image via Omete Anassi/Twitter.

I believe this is called cheesin'.

[rebelmouse-image 19531247 dam="1" original_size="366x563" caption="Image via Omete Anassi/Twitter." expand=1]Image via Omete Anassi/Twitter.

Omete's Tweet recapping the saga went viral, with over 45,000 retweets.

Everyone loves good embarrassing dad content — that much is a given. But in the middle of a crisis, a silly story like this can take on much more meaning.

If you want to keep the good vibes going and help out the people in Houston, there are plenty of ways to do it.

Kids affected by Harvey are sharing videos reading their favorite books. It's adorable.

Before Hurricane Harvey hit, schools in and around Katy, Texas, only planned to be closed for a day or two.

Once the storm made landfall and subsequently flooding began, second-grade reading teacher Kathryn Mills says everyone quickly realized the impact would be much, much larger.

"Several of our students have been displaced. Several of our teachers have had to evacuate. There's flooding in some of the schools. The district support center is under water," she says. All they can do is wait and see; school could be closed for weeks — or longer.

Kathryn Mills. Image from Kathryn Mills' Facebook.

From her home outside of Katy — which is thankfully dry, as Mills lives at the top of a hill — she was moved by pictures of many of her students on social media taking shelter in bathrooms and staircases. She was moved even more by the fact that many of them clung to books and were reading to pass the time while they waited out the worst of the storm.

"I love books," she says. "And I love kids loving books."

With a return to school up in the air, Mills decided to harness all that educational energy and keep kids engaged in their reading and keep their minds off the storm.

She started an online book club. With a simple Facebook page, Mills created a space for parents and their kids to share photos and videos of them reading their favorite books while floods raged outside. They could offer each other support to keep going and, more importantly, give each other a reason to smile.

"The main purpose is just to bring some normalcy in the middle of chaos," she says. "A little sunshine in the middle of the storm."

[rebelmouse-image 19528878 dam="1" original_size="258x403" caption="GIF via Emily Browder/Facebook" expand=1]GIF via Emily Browder/Facebook

What started as a small group for about 70 families of current and former students quickly ballooned into a community of almost 50,000 from around the world.

Videos and photos poured in from kids and parents in neighboring states and far-off countries.

[rebelmouse-image 19528879 dam="1" original_size="262x426" caption="GIF via Lindsay Skipper Gunn/Facebook" expand=1]GIF via Lindsay Skipper Gunn/Facebook

"Originally I wanted to go into every post and encourage the kids on how awesome they're doing," Mills says.

Now the group is way too big for that, but plenty of other people are stepping up to make the kids feel loved. The encouragement and the distraction (not to mention a little bit of internet fame) are great for the kids' morale, but Mills says she's been especially moved by the response from adults.

"I think they needed this just as much as the kids did," she says. "The message I've received is, 'I've smiled so much watching these videos.'"

There's still no telling when Houston and the surrounding areas will recover from the flooding enough for some sense of normalcy to return.

It could be a long wait. But while the adults work to put the pieces back together, the kids' job is to still be kids.

With a little help from their favorite books and the Hurricane Harvey Book Club, hopefully they can look back at this time one day and remember more than just the storm.

When Houston doctor Stephen Kimmel was called in to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center for an emergency surgery Tuesday, he quickly realized he'd have to improvise.

Though his own house was flooding, the pediatric general surgeon raced toward the hospital, mindful that his teenage patient, Jacob Terrazas, could suffer permanent damage if his testicular condition wasn't treated immediately.

When a flooded highway prevented Kimmel's car from going any farther, he joined forces with two volunteer firefighters, armed with a secret weapon: a canoe.

The group paddled down what was, just one week earlier, a crowded highway, and dropped off Kimmel roughly a mile from the hospital. He walked the rest of the way through water that swelled to his waist.

Kimmel with Terrazas and family after the surgery. Photo by Clear Lake Regional Medical Center.

"Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes," Kimmel said in a press release. "This young man’s life would have been changed for the worse forever if we hadn’t been able to perform surgery when we did. In the end, it all turned out very well."

The catastrophic early days of Hurricane Harvey have seen dozens of stories of volunteers from Houston and beyond going to extraordinary lengths to assist their neighbors.

On Monday, over 100 members of the "Cajun Navy," a Louisiana-based group of volunteer rescuers, descended on the city and ferried residents to safety in personal watercraft.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

That same day, a group of Houstonians formed a human chain to rescue a neighbor in labor.

Thanks to Kimmel's long, damp slog, Terrazas' surgery was a success. The 16-year-old is expected to be released from the hospital soon.

"This has been a long night, but this place is wonderful," Terrazas' mother, Yesenia, said of the hospital and its staff.

She and her son will soon be on their way home with good news. All thanks to one doctor, two seafaring firefighters, and their determination to get the job done.