The One America Appeal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on 7 September 2017, by all five then living former

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. This joint appeal originally aimed to encourage support for recovery efforts for

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

, but was then extended to include areas most affected by Hurricanes Irma and

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

. The appeal was launched when the five former Presidents aired a joint

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...

on the NFL's regular season opening broadcast. All funds collected through this fund will go into a special account established through the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation and then all proceeds will be distributed to assist hurricane victims. According to an update issued on 21 October 2017, the effort has raised $31 million in funds from more than 80,000 donors. The appeal concluded fundraising on 31 December 2017 and raised $41.3 million in total from around 110,500 donors.

Benefit concert

A benefit concert, "Deep from the Heart: The One America Appeal", was held on 21 October 2017 at the Reed Arena at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in College Station and headlined by all five living former U.S. Presidents (

, and

). Ticket sales and other proceeds went to the special hurricane recovery effort. The concert was hosted by

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

, with Martin Guigui as Music Director, and featured the country music band

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group, Sam & Dave, from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for " Soul Man"), and the Voc ...

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million album ...

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

and

Robert Earl Keen Robert Earl Keen (born January 11, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and entertainer. Debuting with 1984's ''No Kinda Dancer'', the Houston native has recorded 20 full-length albums for both independent and major record labels. His songs ha ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

made a surprise appearance, performing "

Million Reasons "Million Reasons" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her fifth studio album, '' Joanne'' (2016). Initially released as a promotional single, it was released to radio stations on October 29, 2016, as the album's second single. Th ...

", " You and I" and "

The Edge of Glory "The Edge of Glory" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her second studio album, '' Born This Way'' (2011). The song was released on May 9, 2011, as the album's third single. Initially released as one of two promotional singles for ''Bor ...

" at the concert. The Texas A&M University Singing Cadets also made an appearance to sing "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

", "God Bless the USA" (alongside Greenwood), and " Lean on Me" at the end of the concert. A pre-taped video message from sitting US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

was shown during the concert, in which he described the effort as "tremendous".

Donations

Donations to the fund will be distributed to these organisations: * Houston Harvey Relief Fund * Rebuild Texas Fund * Florida Disaster Fund * Juntos y unidos por Puerto Rico * The Fund for the Virgin Islands

Founders

Five living former U.S. Presidents were co-founders of the One America Appeal in 2017. (George H.W. Bush died on 30 November 2018.) File:JimmyCarterPortrait2.jpg, Jimmy Carter
39th President
served

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

–

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

File: George H. W. Bush, President of the United States, 1989 official portrait cropped(b).jpg, George H. W. Bush (†)
41st President
served 1989–

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

File:Bill Clinton.jpg, Bill Clinton
42nd President
served

–

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

File:George-W-Bush.jpeg, George W. Bush
43rd President
served

–

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

File:Official portrait of Barack Obama.jpg, Barack Obama
44th President
served

–

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links

*
YouTube channel
{{Barack Obama Jimmy Carter George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Irma Charities based in Texas Non-profit organizations based in Texas Organizations established in 2017 2017 establishments in Texas Benefit concerts in the United States