Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, continues to give back to his hometown in the wake of national tragedy, People reports. McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey quickly jumped to action in the wake of the horrific school shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School on May 24, which left 19 children and two adults dead.
“Matthew and Camila McConaughey have been on the ground in Uvalde for the last few days since the mass shooting,” the duo’s Just Keep Livin Foundation wrote in a statement on their official website, announcing the creation of a Uvalde Relief Fund. “The loss is tragic. While the spirit of the community is in pain, the unanimous support of families to families and strangers to locals is beautiful.”
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“After the initial shock, the town has now begun the funerals and the grieving process which will continue for the surviving children, families, and the entire community. The community will need ongoing grief counseling and support on the long road ahead of them.”
The statement, which was also posted to the Just Keep Livin Foundation’s Instagram page, promises that 100% of donations to the relief fund will support “grief counseling, costs associated with burial services, and other immediate and long-term needs of the community.”
McConaughey Previously Called for Change Following Uvalde Tragedy
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“As you are all aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town [sic] of Uvalde, Texas,” McConaughey, 52, said in a statement on social media hours after the shooting. “Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.”
The Dallas Buyers Club actor went on to call for gun reform, writing, “The true call to action now is for every American to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, ‘What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem?…We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo.”
In addition to using his platform to call for gun control, People confirmed that McConaughey personally visited with the victims’ families and U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales on May 27, following the shooting.
Donations to the Just Keep Livin Foundation’s Ulvade Relief Fund can be made on the foundation’s website via credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
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