Kenny Chesney’s House Destroyed by Hurricane Irma, But He’s Helping Others
Kenny Chesney's vacation house was destroyed in Hurricane Irma, but he's jumping in to help victims.
The singer has long called the Islands his second home, and his literal second home on St. John was destroyed when the massive storm hit land. Chesney wasn't there, but offered his home to friends to use as a shelter during the storm.
"My house was, we thought, a very safe place for everyone because it was built with stone, concrete [and] bricks in an area of the island where we didn’t feel like we were going to get a direct wind. So I felt like if they went downstairs it would be a very safe place,” he tells HLN’s Robin Meade.
“I had 200MPH wind-tested windows throughout my house, and every window in the house just blew out, so these people were really scared,” he adds. “They found more shelter in a big closet and were in that closet for a long time, and they made it. Luckily, a lot of people made it.”
Of course, Chesney is much more concerned about the people who live on the island full-time, whom he’s come to know and love.
“That place and the people mean so much more to me than my house" he shares. “I think we’re all going to come together and we’re going to do so much to rebuild. The people’s souls down there, they’re hurting.”
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The superstar has already come up with a way to help, establishing a foundation called the Love for Love City Foundation, which he says is a nod to St. John’s nickname. Chesney is still sorting out the details, but fans can go to his website to keep up to date on what they can do to help. He says he also hopes to use music in some way, especially since the Islands have inspired him so much.
“These islands have shaped me as a human being; it’s given me creativity, it’s given me a different way of looking at the world, a different window at seeing the world through,” he tells HLN in the interview above. “It breaks my heart. The people is what I think about the most. I have some of the best friends of my life down there, that knew me before I got famous and before my life changed. They’re just so wonderful and they’re facing the hardest time of their life right now.”
“Hopefully we can all come together and spread a lot of love and resources and try to make things better for everyone,” he adds. While the details of the foundation are being organized, Chesney has sent his plane full of water as well as pet food for displaced animals down to the area.
“We will rebuild and we will recover. My island family has a lot of heart and I know that we’re going to recover but it’s going to take a lot of help,” he says.
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