Hurricane Maria family fund
Donation protected
Guys – first I want to thank you for support in so many ways: texts, calls, hugs. SO many of you have wanted to help my family and community in PR, without even knowing them. I can’t put into words what that means to me, and them. For that reason, I decided to create this page, and thank you in advance for your help. This is the hardest time they have ever had to endure so far, and it’s not over yet. In fact, it is just starting. They have a long road of rebuilding ahead.
The current situation in Puerto Rico is devastating. It took 60hrs until my parents were able to reach out and let me know they were ok. After that, 4 days went by before the next contact. Lack of essential resources such as water, power, fuel and food is impacting everyone in the island. My parents live in a rural area, the city of Morovis, where help takes longer to arrive. Since they don’t have access to fuel, it is very difficult to reach the bigger cities where there is a small chance of getting lucky and finding a gas station with gas. Grocery and department stores suffered a lot of damage, and they are not fully operational yet – again, back to the lack of fuel, they can only remain open while they have diesel to run their generators. The post office and private mailing services are still down. As of today, 1 week after the hurricane, there is no way to mail packages to Puerto Rico (the post office here is taking packages but they are not arriving/being distributed yet).
My parents are the most generous people I know. I have never seen my parents hesitate to share the little they might have with someone else that needs it more. Seeing them in this situation, without being there and able to physically help them, is very difficult. It is frustrating and upsetting. Without a doubt the most difficult thing I’ve had to go through in my life.
A crisis of this magnitude has put things into perspective for me. Nothing matters more than the well-being of family. Their situation is all that’s in my mind right now. I don’t care about the little things that I was worried about last week. My focus and #1 priority right now is to figure out how to help them get back on their feet.
The funds raised by all of us will go towards providing them with food and the essentials they need indefinitely. The one item they are in most need of right now is power generators. Puerto Rico authorities estimate that some areas of the island will be without power for 4-6 months, and longer in some areas. This is a marathon for them.
My goal is to send them a steady flow of whatever they need, until whenever they need it. Until they reach their new normal and the island is making some strides again. Food, money, essentials.
Accepting help is hard. At this point, the help they and their community needs is beyond just me. With a power generator, and food and essentials, my parents can help themselves, my extended family and their neighbors, which some have lost EVERYTHING.
Thank you for your support. I’ll be posting updates here frequently.
Lynette
The current situation in Puerto Rico is devastating. It took 60hrs until my parents were able to reach out and let me know they were ok. After that, 4 days went by before the next contact. Lack of essential resources such as water, power, fuel and food is impacting everyone in the island. My parents live in a rural area, the city of Morovis, where help takes longer to arrive. Since they don’t have access to fuel, it is very difficult to reach the bigger cities where there is a small chance of getting lucky and finding a gas station with gas. Grocery and department stores suffered a lot of damage, and they are not fully operational yet – again, back to the lack of fuel, they can only remain open while they have diesel to run their generators. The post office and private mailing services are still down. As of today, 1 week after the hurricane, there is no way to mail packages to Puerto Rico (the post office here is taking packages but they are not arriving/being distributed yet).
My parents are the most generous people I know. I have never seen my parents hesitate to share the little they might have with someone else that needs it more. Seeing them in this situation, without being there and able to physically help them, is very difficult. It is frustrating and upsetting. Without a doubt the most difficult thing I’ve had to go through in my life.
A crisis of this magnitude has put things into perspective for me. Nothing matters more than the well-being of family. Their situation is all that’s in my mind right now. I don’t care about the little things that I was worried about last week. My focus and #1 priority right now is to figure out how to help them get back on their feet.
The funds raised by all of us will go towards providing them with food and the essentials they need indefinitely. The one item they are in most need of right now is power generators. Puerto Rico authorities estimate that some areas of the island will be without power for 4-6 months, and longer in some areas. This is a marathon for them.
My goal is to send them a steady flow of whatever they need, until whenever they need it. Until they reach their new normal and the island is making some strides again. Food, money, essentials.
Accepting help is hard. At this point, the help they and their community needs is beyond just me. With a power generator, and food and essentials, my parents can help themselves, my extended family and their neighbors, which some have lost EVERYTHING.
Thank you for your support. I’ll be posting updates here frequently.
Lynette
Organizer
Lynette Berger
Organizer
Powell, OH
