Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, aka Daddy Yankee, has used his Twitter account – a platform that boasts nearly 11 million followers – to bring attention and visibility to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. As the island struggles to inch closer toward recovery, Daddy Yankee is retweeting invaluable information and asking his followers for help. And he’s not just stopping at that, DY is on the island, helping his fellow Puerto Ricans. On Saturday, he used his resources more than once to help the Food Bank of Puerto Rico.
Daddy Yankee first donated $100,000 to the food bank, which is enough money to feed about 9,000 families in Toa Baja, according to CNN. Hurricane Maria completely devastated the town, which is less than 20 miles away from San Juan. None of the households have electricity and only 25 percent have running water. And while many of the area’s grocery stores are up and running, it’s still incredibly difficult to get food. Though FEMA and other federal government officials are on the island, many, like San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, have noted that help is insufficient. While one group receives medicine and supplies, others don’t. But thanks in part to Daddy Yankee, families in Toa Baja received water and 59 pounds of food.
And though the food bank was able to provide somre relief to those in Toa Baja, Ivonne Bernard, the bank’s director, worried about how they’d make it through the day. Using a generator, the bank refrigerated about 25,000 pounds of food, including mangoes, pork, and pineapples. Bernard worried that the food would spoil, and before Daddy Yankee arrived, these thoughts consumed her mind. “We have the money, but they’re not supplying, they’re not bringing it,” she told CNN. “I would feel very sad, because we’re not going to be able to continue to provide relief to the Puerto Rican people.”
When the star arrived and learned of the quandary, he quickly asked his entourage to help fix the problem. Almost immediately, they told Bernard that they had located 200 gallons of diesel, which was on its way to the food bank. “We got the diesel! We got the diesel!” the reggaetonero said. “We can’t wait for the government.”