Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Relief

On September 20th Hurricane Maria, a category 4 storm, hit Puerto Rico leaving a path of terror and destruction in its wake. Maria's 130-155 mph winds tore through the island--destroying the nation's power grid, 1,360 out of 1,600 of the island phone towers, and 85% of the above-ground and underground phone and internet cables, leaving 3.4 million people without electricity or the ability to communicate with their family. Three days later there have been 21 confirmed deaths from Maria, most of the island is still without power (and likely will be for months), and phone reception is still non-existent in many areas. Many shelters are at or approaching full capacity and their resources are running thin. The destruction Maria caused is much worse than the limited news coverage has shown. People have lost their homes, shops, jobs, pets, family members, belongings, and much more. The aftermath of this hurricane will be felt in the many months, potentially years to come.

I have decided to start this gofund me page to help the people of Puerto Rico to buy food, supplies, clothes, water, and other basic necessities. I went this route instead of donating to an organization or non-profit because I wanted to make sure that 100% of what gets donated reaches the people affected, not any CEOs or middle-men. The Red Cross, although it a helpful and caring organization, only gives about 33 cents of each dollar donated to the victims of the disaster at hand. (Also seven years have passed and the $500 million raised by the Red Cross for 2010 Haiti earthquake has seemingly gone missing.)

I will be giving a large chunk of the money raised here to my friend who will be going back to Puerto Rico during the first week of October. There she will work with trushworthy grassroots organizations to make sure that 100% of the money I give her goes directly to the people affected. Then, on November 1st I am planning on meeting with some of my close friends, who live in Puerto Rico, at a conference in Arizona. There I will give them another chunk of the money raised here to back to Puerto Rico. They will make sure that all of it goes directly to the victims by donating to shelters, buying food, water, clothes, etc. I also plan on donating some of the money raised here to specific organizations/fundraisers that will help the victims of the hurricane through aid or creating safe spaces (I will update this page on these programs). Then in December, a couple of my friends and I plan on flying to Puerto Rico. I will use what's leftof the fund to buy clothes and supplies we can fit into large checked bags. Then we will help distribute the supplies there.

Please take some time to donate to this cause. The people of Puerto Rico need us to stand up, take action, and support them in their time of need. I personally will be donating $100 but please feel free to donate $5, $10, $20, $50, or whatever you can afford. Even if you can't afford to donate please spread the word by asking friends and family to donate, or even just by sharing this page! Every cent counts.