TAMPA, Fla. — Advocates and community leaders have been fundraising to help Puerto Rico and local families after Hurricane Fiona recently pummeled the island.
But when Hurricane Ian devastated southwest Florida last week, their efforts took a hit.
“After what has happened in Florida it seems that Puerto Rico is going to take a backseat, and I think the news has a lot to do with that,” said Jeannie Vigil Calderin, who is Puerto Rican and runs the nonprofit Somos Puerto Rico Tampa. “We’re going to continue with our efforts.”
While Floridians struggle to recover from Ian, some nonprofit groups are trying to keep a focus on Puerto Rico while helping those affected by the crisis closer to home.
A day after Fiona made landfall on Sept. 18 as a Category 1 storm, Vigil started a GoFundMe page to buy solar-powered lanterns. The goal is to collect $10,000, but she has only raised a little over a $1,515. The most recent donation was 11 days ago, she said. Now she is thinking of sending letters and petitions to business owners and entrepreneurs in Tampa.
Five years ago, Vigil and her volunteers were able to send donations to the island within days and to assist more than 7,000 Puerto Rican families that were displaced after Hurricane Maria in September 2017. The Category 4 storm killed nearly 3,000 people.
“It’s sad but we’re giving more time to collect money because we know many families, friends and supporters in Florida spent a lot to prepare for Hurricane Ian,” said Vigil.
Vanessa E. Beltran, a Puerto Rican advocate who coordinated humanitarian flights to assist 300 people after Hurricane Maria, said the situation can be frustrating for many organizations and community leaders that want to help as many as possible.
”It’s not impossible, but it’s a challenge,” Beltran said. “We would like to be able to reach out to more people and help everyone.”
Beltran worked with dozens of “boricuas” to collect and ship items to families in Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricane Maria. She will continue to do that while also helping victims of Ian in Florida.
Herminio Ithier, a 48-year-old husband and father of two, left his native Puerto Rico in 2011, then worked from Tampa to deliver aid to the island territory after Maria and a 2018 earthquake.
Ithier said that he never imagined two crises at the same time.
”It is a very difficult situation for thousands of families, but like many other Puerto Ricans like me and who went through difficulties due to the hurricanes, I’m willing to help in any way,” Ithier said.
Another Puerto Rican advocate, Nancy Hernandez, 60, founder of local nonprofit Mujeres Restauradas por Dios, or Women Restored by God, said personal donations have dropped during the last two weeks but the number of people in need has not stopped. In fact, she said, it has increased after the hurricanes.
Hernandez has been distributing food and helping Puerto Ricans and their families for eight years. In Tampa, her nonprofit supports women and their families by providing shelter and food.
Now, she’s collecting items for victims of Hurricane Ian.
“We have to move forward because there are people who need our help.”
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