Volunteers load relief supplies on a truck at the Fishkill event
FISHKILL – Cars gathered around in Ransley Square in Fishkill to
drop off various goods including bottled water and diapers for victims
of Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Puerto Rico last month.
The donation drive was organized by Phil Cordero, owner of Cafe Con
Leche in Wappingers Falls and part-time shift supervisor at the Starbucks
in Ransley Square, and Dutchess County Legislator Francena Amparo of the
Town of Wappinger.
Cordero reached out to Amparo after hearing about the hurricane on the
news to see what he could do to help victims.
“I have family in Puerto Rico, and when we heard about the devastation,
I thought there must be something I could do,” he said. “With
my resources, I thought I could reach out to the Dutchess County Legislator
to see what I could do, and that’s how this all came about.”
His connections to the local Starbucks helped him secure Ransley Square
as the location for the drive. Employees at the Fishkill-based Starbucks
were on hand to provide coffee and baked goods to locals who donated their
time to this cause, both as volunteers and donors.
Amparo was motivated to get involved because of her own family ties to
Puerto Rico. She has heard from all of her family members except for one,
so she understood how dire Cordero’s situation was when it came
to trying to connect to his family.
“He was also trying to get in touch with his family, so we decided
we were going to put this together,” she said. “It’s
been an overwhelming response.”
Volunteers at the drive were mostly family members of Amparo, Cordero
and the regional manager of the Fishkill Starbucks who also has family
in Puerto Rico. Donors arrived in droves after hearing about the event
via social media, local radio and news outlets. Their donations will be
transported to New York City and then shipped to four resource centers
belonging to the city-based Puerto Rican Family Institute, where Amparo’s
friend works.
Cordero wants to get relief supplies to the island as soon as possible.
“There are people dying. There are people going without food and
water,” he said. “We did it in Vietnam – we put choppers
in the air, we dropped rations, we dropped medics; that is something we
could have done now 10 days ago. I am a little disappointed. This is something
that could have been averted.”
Both Amparo and Cordero expressed dissatisfaction with President Trump
and the federal government’s overall response to Hurricane Maria.
“I am very disappointed and I am not happy about what has transpired,”
said Amparo. “I know there are people [at the drive] that are not
happy about it either.”
“The response is very slow,” added Cordero. “Six days
in logistical meanings is not acceptable. There are people dying, going
without food or water. This is something we could have averted, and I
continue to pray that people get the help that they need.”
As of the weekend, the death toll in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane
Maria is 24; only five percent of residents have power currently, and
a little under half of the supermarkets are open. The damage done to the
island has made this hurricane the costliest in Puerto Rico history, and
the hurricane has been recorded as the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane
as per the Atlantic Hurricane Best Track File.
