Food critic Keith Lee and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton teamed up to put $30,000 toward storm relief in Gary, turning a local response effort into a bigger push for food and basic supplies.
Lee donated $15,000, and Haliburton matched it. That money helped fund a giveaway Monday at Roosevelt City Pavilion, run by Lee with The Salvation Army, as northwest Indiana kept dealing with the aftermath of the Aug. 11 derecho.
“Tyrese Haliburton found out what we [were] doing, and he matching our contributions,” Lee said in an Instagram video.
Haliburton was 150 miles away in Indianapolis, where he was captaining a softball team at Victory Field during the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic. Even from there, he made it clear he wanted in.
“As much as I can. I want to be involved in the community as much as I can,” Haliburton said.
“Obviously, I couldn't be in Gary today with what they're doing, but I wanted to help give back as much as I could. For me to contribute at all means the world to me, so I'm very thankful.”
“I know that we are not here without the support of many, many people,” Haliburton continued. “So I just want to give back and help as much as I can.”
The storm hit hard enough that the National Weather Service recorded a 99 mph gust at Gary/Chicago International Airport, a speed in the range of a Category 2 hurricane. Northern Indiana Public Service Company has tracked roughly 374,500 customer outages since then and has called the event the largest outage in its history.
As of Monday morning, NIPSCO still had 10,712 customers without power, with most of those outages in Gary. The United States Power Outage Map listed Lake County at 9,145.
Gary schools had been shut down since the storm and students returned Monday. Some residents have been driving into Illinois to get ice, and spoiled food has been a major loss for families.
Insulin is among the medications that require refrigeration.
The relief effort has drawn in a wider network as the region keeps digging out. FEMA has issued an emergency declaration for Gary, though individual disaster assistance has not been approved.
World Central Kitchen served about 4,000 meals Sunday in Gary and Lake Ridge. ComEd sent more than 60 employees from Chicago to help NIPSCO crews, while the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, Gary NAACP, YWCA Northwest Indiana, and Flourish Church and Community Hub have also been involved.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun also moved Monday to press NIPSCO over its response, directing the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor to file a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and seek an investigation. Braun had criticized the utility Sunday, saying it has ample resources and continues to fail Hoosiers.
Monday’s softball event was part of Drive & Dish, now in its second year as a Pacers Foundation program. Rick Carlisle started it to fight food insecurity, and it has moved more than 1.2 million pounds of food across Indiana. Colts quarterback Daniel Jones captained the opposing team against Haliburton.
Haliburton’s donation came while he remains sidelined after tearing his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 22, 2025. He has not played since.
The Pacers won 19 games last season, and Haliburton’s last full year was 2024-25, when he appeared in 73 games, averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists, and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. He is due $48,924,624 this season.
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