Thursday, October 5, 2017

Several Milwaukee Groups Shared West Chicago Relief Aid Donations Destine For Puerto Rico

Marquette University Latino students and Faith Embassy Church were able to share donations from a full trailer of relief aid that arrived in Milwaukee, which included clothing, nonperishable food, water and other items destine for Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico. 

By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

October 5, 2017

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Thursday, Martin Jimenez, the owner of Candela's Bar and Hall confirmed, that the last load of nonperishable food, water, clothing and other items estimated at more than $50,000 were finally picked up by members of the Faith Embassy Church on Wednesday from the temporary storage space at his hall. Jimenez thanked all the volunteers who helped unload a 53 foot trailer full of donations from a West Chicago church sent to Milwaukee destine for the Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico. Jimenez and his wife Claudia were more than happy to accommodate such a huge load of donations to help the local Puerto Rico community as well. The food donations arrived in Milwaukee about a week ago and was transported free of cost by JR Transport Inc. from the Faith, Life and Hope Church in West Chicago, which has now been successfully distributed to several groups in Milwaukee that included Marquette University Latino students. Cristofer Borghese from the Marquette University student group confirmed to Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) that they were able to pick up some of the donations from Candela's to sent to Puerto Rico via United for Puerto Rico. Also, Pastor Liz Feliciano from Faith Embassy told HNNUSA that the donations that they picked up from Candela's will be sorted out and packaged, then transported to Chicago by the RL Carriers from Milwaukee to be sent to Puerto Rico. Feliciano's husband works at RL Carriers.
Last week, it took about 3 hours to unload the donations at Candela's for temporary storage and were destine to Puerto Rico, according to Rosa Figueroa and Virginio Miranda from Acción Ciudadana de Wisconsin who organized the relief effort.
The West Chicago donations for Puerto Rico originated from the Faith, Life and Hope Church in West Chicago, which one of the lead organzers, Juan Sánchez of Chicago approved the transport of donations to Milwaukee in coordination with Miranda. Pastor José Sigfredo Landaverde confirmed that more than 900 tons for food, water, clothing and other donations have been collected from the surrounding Chicago metropolitan community. 
Pastor Landaverde released the following statement, "We are informing all of the community that we have gathered more than 900 hundred tons of donation goods that will be giving out to the victims affected by the earthquake that hit Mexico City and surrounding states. All the donations will be sent out to all of the affected areas by the earthquake. We are reaching out thru this media source to thank  everyone that collaborated and helped in this cause. America Carrillo had Informed us that we Will be continuing  helping the people affected in Mexico's affected states and also Puerto Rico. We are reaching all media sources to make public one of the biggest accomplishment by DuPage County."
According to Sánchez, at least 30 trailers full of donations were able to be filled and more donations continue to arrive at the church in West Chicago. The Faith, Life and Hope church has become the epi-center of food donations. The church group in West Chicago has also distributed donations to Houston, Texas, Florida and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Miranda confirmed that he was able to bring an additional car loads of food donations from Waukegan, Illinois to Milwaukee destine to Puerto Rico. Some of those donations are temporarily stored at El Conquistador Newspaper office, according to Victor Huyke, the Publisher who took the donations for storage. 
Figueroa, Borghese and Huyke are of Puerto Rico descent, and Miranda, Sánchez and the Jimenez family from Candela's Bar and Hall are of Mexico descent.

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