NEW YORK – Puerto Ricans in the diaspora and other communities will have 24 uninterrupted hours to donate money for the victims of Hurricane Fiona on the island through the initiative called “Fionathon”, headed from New York by the organizations “Puerto Rican Family Institute” and “Hope For Families and Children Foundation”.
The fundraising day “Fionathon, support us to lend a hand to Puerto Rico” will begin this Friday at 2 pm and will last until 2 pm the next day, October 1.
Staff from both entities that serve Puerto Ricans in New York will be stationed at the headquarters of the Puerto Rican Family Institute in Manhattan (100 West Street 11) to lead the marathon.
“Relieving families and communities in need is the main priority of our foundation.
We are s committed to directly impacting all those affected. We want to give you
hope and remind you that you are not alone. There is a solid community of Puerto Ricans abroad ready to lend a hand to Puerto Rico and help,” said María Dávila-
Peguero, a member of the Board of Directors of Hope for Families and Children Foundation through a press release.
As part of the activity, the organizers will share the progress of the fundraising process every hour through their digital platforms (@Puerto Rican Family Institute/ @HopePRFI). During the day, they will also make interventions in various media and press.
People interested in donating can transfer their contribution through the Banco Popular disaster account #6810392420, with route number #026008811 or through the website: https: //www.hope4familiesandchildren.org/donate-now.
In this way, the two entities are added to the efforts of other diaspora groups that have called on potential donors to focus on sending money to the victims instead of basic necessities due to poor management of supplies sent from the United States immediately after Hurricane Maria in the 2017.
“It is not that the authorities are distrusted. We want to be certain and provide peace of mind to our donors about the whereabouts of the donations and that they have tangible and measurable evidence of the result of their contributions,” Luis Rodríguez, CEO of the Puerto Rican Family Institute, responded to questions from El Diario de NY.
To guarantee that the money reaches the most needy communities, Rodríguez indicated that, through the municipalities, they have collected information on the families with the greatest need.
“The organizations will evaluate each particular situation and we will travel to Puerto Rico to personally deliver a check and alleviate the difficult situation they are going through”, anticipated the spokesman.
Rodríguez specified that after María passed by, the entity delivered more than $100,000 dollars to various non-profit organizations on the island, among which the following stand out: Folkloric Research Center of Puerto Rico, Casa Paoli, Julia de Burgos Protected House and Foundation for Puerto Rico.
“On this occasion, we have decided to support families and household members in the most affected areas in a different way because of the ravages of the hurricane”, he added.
The organizations have not set a goal regarding the amount of money they intend to collect, but they seek to exceed the previous amount.
“To tell you a number would be to limit the possibilities of potential donors and their financial capacity to contribute and be part of the solution. What we do know is that after Hurricane Maria, more than $21,000 dollars and we are convinced that this weekend we can break that record”, highlighted the executive director.
Scope of PRFI and HOPE
The Puerto Rico Family Institute is a nonprofit entity founded in the 1960 who works for the Puerto Rican and other Hispanic communities in New York City. Specifically in Puerto Rico, they offer Head Start and Early Head Start services.
The organization’s multi-program focus is human and health services to families with children in different communities in NY.
The mission of the Hope For Families and Children Foundation, founded in 1989, is to raise funds to fulfill the PRFI goals to help communities in need.
Overview in Puerto Rico 11 days after Fiona
Fiona hit Puerto Rico as category 1 with winds of 88 miles per hour on Sunday 18 in September, only two days before the five years of the catastrophic onslaught of Hurricane Maria on the island, a territory of the United States. The system left millions of dollars in damage to the infrastructure, particularly in the southwest of the Island, and at least 21 deaths.
Despite the efforts of federal agencies such as the Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to distribute millions in funds for recovery and reconstruction, the complicated procedures to apply for aid and the rigorous requirements imposed by the entity have delayed these processes.
Until this Thursday, 11 days after Fiona passed, almost a 20% of Puerto Ricans did not have electricity service, one of the main problems that left the cyclone. LUMA Energy, a foreign company contracted to supply the service to the islanders, anticipated that the restoration of service in more than 90 % in the Ponce and Mayagüez regions, the most affected by the pass, could last until next Thursday, October 6.
Recently, community-based organizations on the island joined members of the diaspora in Washington DC to ask Congress to establish a channel to ensure that the funds destined for Puerto Rico reach the communities and the organizations that represent them.
The activists proposed that, through legislation or with amendments to reconstruction programs, direct allocations are ensured for the communities and the organizations that represent them.
The report by El Nuevo Día on the information session held on Tuesday in the federal House of Representatives indicates that Nayda Bobonis Cabrera, Public Policy coordinator of the Furia organization and resident of Caño Martín Peña, requested that projects with funds from the community development program to deal with disasters (CDBG-DR) include an advisory board with community leaders.
“By not paying attention to local knowledge, they are misusing money,” said Adi Martínez Román, Director of Operations of the Resilience Legal Center, the entity that organized the event.
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All the municipalities of Puerto Rico are declared disaster areas after Hurricane Fiona