Russell Westbrook donates to Los Angeles fund for needy families

Houston Rockets star and Los Angeles native Russell Westbrook made a donation Monday to the City of Los Angeles Angeleno Fund, organized by the city’s mayor to help needy families through the financial hardship of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As part of a video message (taped with his wife, Nina) sent to millions of followers across his social media platforms, Westbrook wrote:

Too many Angelenos need our help now more than ever. Visit mayorsfundla.org/Angeleno to help families experiencing extreme financial hardship during this pandemic. Many of those in need are immigrants or independent workers who are ineligible for other benefits. We’re all in this together.

View this post on Instagram

Too many Angelenos need our help now more than ever. Visit mayorsfundla.org/Angeleno (link in bio) to help families experiencing extreme financial hardship during this pandemic. Many of those in need are immigrants or independent workers who are ineligible for other benefits. We’re all in this together. #nbatogether #actsofcaring #lalove

A post shared by Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) on Mar 23, 2020 at 5:38pm PDT

As of Monday night, California (2,160) had the second-most confirmed COVID-19 cases of any U.S. state, trailing only New York (20,875). Los Angeles is by far the state’s largest city.

According to The New York Times, data as of Monday night showed 41,701 cases of coronavirus in the United States, including 537 deaths.

Garcetti also announces NBA MVP @russwest44 has donated to @MayorsFundLA effort to provide cash assistance to Angelenos. Westbrook is a SoCal native and played for UCLA

— Aaron Mendelson (@a_mendelson) March 24, 2020