FFP Sends Aid in Response to Hurricanes in Caribbean, Earthquake in Mexico
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 21, 2017) Multiple disasters are escalating Food For The Poor’s response to people in the Caribbean, who are suffering heartbreaking devastation from back-to-back hurricanes, and in Mexico following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
Four 40-foot containers of lifesaving aid will be loaded for Dominica Friday morning at the charity’s Coconut Creek headquarters and more will follow in the coming days. Critical items being sent include canned food, water, stoves, tarps, chainsaws, generators, lanterns, batteries, blankets, clothing, hygiene kits, cleaning supplies, paper products and buckets.
Additional relief goods will be shipped directly to:
- Mexico, where Food For The Poor is working with The Order of Malta, its trusted partner, to provide medical items.
- Antigua, which is housing 1,500 refugees from Barbuda who were evacuated after Hurricane Irma destroyed most homes and businesses. Antigua did not suffer the same level of damage as the other islands.
- St. Lucia, where Caritas Antilles Chancery Offices, the charity’s longtime partner, is overseeing the distribution of supplies to St. Maarten and the British Virgin Islands, including St. Kitts. Aid also is being sent directly to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Operation Compassion, a Tennessee-based ministry, also is assisting in this endeavor.
“As Dominica and the other Caribbean islands struggle with the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, it is our goal and our mission to help the people there to recover as quickly as possible from this tragedy,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Mexico has areas of severe need and we are doing what we can to meet them.”
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Maria has caused at least 10 deaths across the Caribbean, including seven in Dominica and two in the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe. Puerto Rico’s governor told CNN one man died after being hit by flying debris.
In Mexico, more than 200 died, some in the collapse of buildings in Mexico City and others in rural areas closer the quake’s epicenter in the state of Puebla.
To support Hurricane Maria relief efforts, cash donations are best. Checks can be mailed to Food For The Poor at 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the source code SC#104170 to accurately route your donation to the relief effort. Or to make a donation online, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/maria.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]
