Bruno Mars Donating $1 Million to Water Crisis

Bruno Mars is using his celebrity power to give back, literally. On Saturday (August 12th), the 31-year-old Grammy-winning artist announced that he is donating $1 million from his Michigan concert to aid those affected by the Flint water crisis. He told the audience at his show in Auburn Hills that he and Live Nation are redirecting funds from the show to the charity The Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

He said in a statement,

I’m very thankful to the Michigan audience for joining me in supporting this cause. Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it’s important that we don’t forget our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster.

The Flint water crisis began in 2014 when the drinking water source for the city of Flint, Michigan was changed to the Flint River. Due to insufficient water treatment, over 100,000 residents were potentially exposed to high levels of lead in the drinking water. After a pair of scientific studies proved lead contamination was present in the water supply, a federal state of emergency was declared in January 2016 and Flint residents were instructed to use only bottled or filtered water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. As of early 2017, the water quality had returned to acceptable levels; however, residents were instructed to continue to use bottled or filtered water until all the lead pipes have been replaced, which is expected to be completed no sooner than 2020.