Beyonce has had her "faith in humanity" restored watching people of all creeds and colours come together to help with the recovery effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
The superstar was among the many celebrities who joined forces for the Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief telethon on Tuesday (12Sep17), sending in a pre-recorded message in which she shared her heartache at the devastation caused in her native Texas late last month (Aug17).
"During the time when it's impossible to watch the news without seeing violence or racism in this country, just when we think it couldn't possibly get worse, natural disasters take precious life, do massive damage, and forever change lives...," she began.
"In my hometown city of Houston, people need food, clothing, cleaning supplies, blankets, shoes, diapers, and formula for babies, and of course, clean water...," Beyonce continued. "Natural disasters don't discriminate. They don't see if you're an immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy or poor... We're all in this together."
The new mother, who travelled to Houston to deliver supplies and serve food to locals on Friday (08Sep17), went on to admit she had been touched to witness communities coming together to provide help to those in dire need during the hurricane.
"Seeing everyone of different racial, social and religious backgrounds put their own lives at risk to help each other survive restored my faith in humanity," Beyonce smiled. "True healing is in helping. Please, give what you can... Tonight, we come together in collective effort to raise our voices, to help our communities, to lift our spirits and heal. Thank you."
Rapper Drake, who had been one of the first celebrities to personally pledge funds to the Hurricane Harvey relief charities, also recorded a video message for the all-star telethon, expressing his awe at how people have rushed to help with the recovery efforts.
"With so much happening in the world, it's truly amazing to see our generation conscious and aware. It's even more amazing to see us come together to help as best we can," he said.
"These days it seems as if one issue is ending and I know it can be extremely overwhelming, but your attention and your assistance is of extreme importance. On some days it will be about speaking up, and on other days it will be about standing up, and in today's case, we're asking that you give. Give whatever you can to help people just like you rebuild their families, their homes, and get back to life as they once knew it.
"Thank you for all that you've done so far, and thank you to anyone who picks up their phone and answers this call to action."
Over $14.5 million (£10.9 million) had been raised by the end of the hour-long Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief event, with donations continuing to pour in via the HandinHand2017.com website. The funds collected will benefit various charities providing aid to those affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which ripped through the Caribbean and Florida in the past week.
Other famous faces who lent their voices to the telethon included Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Justin Bieber, and Oprah Winfrey.
