Winter storms across Texas were the main topic for discussion in the last couple of weeks.

Besides the caused harm, they've left dozens dead or knocked out power for days. And many people still don't have water safe for drinking.

On Saturday, the New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was in Texas to celebrate the success of the fundraising effort she organized.

When they meet their goal, they decided to send the money to local organizations providing Texans food assistance, homelessness relief, and eldercare. Moreover, she was joined by Democratic Texas Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, all of whom helped fill boxes at the Houston Food Bank.

Staying United, Even When Times Are Hard

Garcia said the fundraising idea was encouraged by Ocasio-Cortez, who sent her a text saying she wanted to help.

The message she'd sent her said:

"You know, we're from Texas, right? Who does things with New York? We always kind of make fun of New York. But this time, we love New York."

Ocasio-Cortez said to the reporters:

"When disaster strikes, this is not just an issue for Texans; this is an issue for our entire country. And our whole country needs to come and rally together behind the needs of Texans all across this state."

Later, she added:

"That's the New York spirit, that's the Texas spirit, and that's the American spirit."

The Fundraising Results

Alexandria announced the fundraising on Thursday afternoon via Twitter.

Within two hours, the results were approximately $325,000 in donations.

Finally, by Friday morning, the sum was up to $2 million. And on Saturday afternoon, she announced that they'd collected $4 million.

What Happens After The Fundraising?

Houston Public Media has reported that the money will go toward several organizations. Some of them are the Houston Food Bank, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas, and the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center.

Ocasio-Cortez already claimed that although charity itself is helpful for those in need, it doesn't replace the need for policies that prevent power grids from failing in the future.

She continued:

"We need to make sure that we make short- and long-term policy decisions so that this devastation — preventable devastation — never happens again."

Many other factors contributed to the massive power failures in Texas, which relies on its own electricity grid.