The Weeknd has donated $350,000 from his XO Humanitarian Fund to relief efforts in Jamaica following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean.
The music titan’s donation will benefit the World Food Programme — The Weeknd is a WFP ambassador — as the WFP looks to scale its operation and assist in helping a target of 200,000 Jamaicans who were impacted by the Category 5 storm.
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“We are grateful to The Weeknd for his generous support for WFP’s urgent relief efforts. His compassion will provide much-needed comfort and resilience to Jamaicans as they navigate this crisis,” said Barron Segar, World Food Program USA President and CEO, in a statement. “When it comes to humanitarian disasters, WFP is among the world’s first responders. But our work is only possible through the generosity of our private sector donors and global partners.”
The WFP has been working alongside the Jamaican government to bring aide to citizens and they’ve helped more than 9,000 people by sending in food kits. Between Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, the WFP has assisted about 254,000 people with emergency food distribution as of press time.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in late October and the strongest tropical storm of 2025 so far has impacted nearly six million Caribbean citizens.
The Weeknd is no stranger to humanitarian efforts as he’s donated more than $10 million to various causes since 2020. He pledged $1 million to relief efforts following the L.A. wildfires in January.
Jamaican legend Shaggy has also been a major part of relief efforts for his home country. He mobilized private flights for citizens in danger and sent food aid to those starving due to the storm earlier in November.
“People are homeless,” Shaggy told Rolling Stone of the precarious living situation. “There’s no running water, there’s no electricity, there’s no shelter. They were sleeping on the streets. We came in last night, we gave out water, we gave out food. There are actually bodies trapped in homes that people haven’t been able to clear.”
Announced Wednesday and led by Sean Paul, Shaggy and Kes, a Jamaica Strong benefit concert will take place Dec. 12 at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York. Additional confirmed performers include Chronic Law, T.O.K, Tessane Chin, Aidonia, Inner Circle, Ky-Mani Marley, Teejay, Richie Stephens, Gramps Morgan, and Mikey Spice, with more artists yet to be announced.