A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton is raising money for Hurricane Irma relief efforts in the Virgin Islands

Oakland A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton is raising money via a GoFundMe campaign to help with Hurricane Irma relief throughout the Virgin Islands.

Cotton, who grew up in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and whose family is from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, posted the campaign on Sunday in the hopes he can help people recover from the devastation experienced from the damaging storm.

As of right now, the campaign has already raised nearly half of its $20,000 goal in just one day, with Cotton contributing $5,000 of his own money to the cause to start things off.

His explanation of the campaign and his connection to the Virgin Islands was short but powerful.

As all of you know, Hurricane Irma has left many of the Caribbean Islands in total devastation after hitting them as a category 5 hurricane and is continuing its path of destruction. Irma has left my home land of ST. Thomas, USVI and Tortola, BVI the homeland of many of my family, in ruin. I have donated 5k immediately to aid the relief efforts in the Virgin Islands and plan on returning to the Islands at the conclusion of the season to help rebuild. I now turn and ask all of you to please help in anyway that you feel you can by donating along with me. Thank you for your generosity and God bless.

- Jharel Cotton
Oakland A's pitcher and ST. Thomas native.
#VIBVISTRONG

He also included multiple pictures of the damage in case people aren’t aware of how extensive it is and what it will take to begin rebuilding.

As he states, Cotton is planning to help out first hand once the season is over and he can travel to the Islands himself.

Until then, he is another athlete with a platform that is using it to help his home recover from a debilitating storm that will have effects on the people there for years to come.