Bethenny Frankel's BStrong Initiative Aiming to Provide $540K in Aid to Texans amid Winter Storm

Bethenny Frankel is using her disaster relief initiative, BStrong, to aid Texas residents as the effects of Winter Storm Uri continue to batter the state.

Millions of Texans have endured rolling power outages amid the icy storm — which, in many cases, cut off their access to heat — and have had to deal with water shortages, leaving them unable to drink or bathe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 47 deaths had been linked to the storm as of Thursday evening, according to The Washington Post.

For more on the winter storm in Texas, listen below to the episode of PEOPLE Every Day.

On Instagram this week, Frankel, 50, said that BStrong planned to transport $180,000 in aid via trucks filled with food and supplies, with an ultimate goal of $540,000 by the end of the weekend.

"Given the current humanitarian crisis in Texas, #BStrong is loading trucks of aid to distribute to those ravaged by power outages, sub-zero temperatures, lack of and contaminated water, death, and homelessness," the former Real Housewives of New York City star captioned one post. "Thank you to our new transport partner, @thencsgroup, for making this effort possible."

Frankel further updated her followers in a video on her page, stressing that the situation in Texas is "a tragedy — it's a disaster, it's a catastrophe."

"People are freezing, people have nothing, people are hungry and cold and their homes have been wrecked and destroyed. It's a time of need, and it's a disaster, and a crisis within a crisis," she said, going on to explain BStrong's role in the ongoing recovery efforts.

"BStrong specializes in immediate disaster relief — no blaming, no complaining, get the aid to the people with full transparency to you," she said. "So, where your money's going in this case for this effort is we have trucks that hold these boxes that feed a family of five for a month."

"One truck will bring $180,000 of aid and feed 5,000 people," she continued. "So right now, we have one truck going and our goal will be three trucks by this weekend. The temperatures will be warmer, that'll be a little bit of a relief."

BStrong is using various supplies from its 60,000-square-foot warehouse to fill their trucks, Frankel said, including lumber, water, tampons, diapers, formula, tools and PPE.

"You name it, we have it," the Skinnygirl mogul said, going on to thank those who have gotten involved and donated.

"Thank you, because it makes a difference," she said. "The $5, $10, the tweets, Instagram posts, the sharing, the messaging — you are literally part of this effort and it's so moving because you're making a difference. So when you ask me, 'How can I get involved?' — you are involved! If you're watching this, you're involved, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart and Texas thanks you."

To donate, head to bethenny.com/bstrong-disaster-relief.