The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain response to Hurricane Maria exceeds expectations
The love of Lorain people transformed a gymnasium at Sacred Heart Chapel into a temporary warehouse of disaster relief items for Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.
When the community started collecting more than a week ago, they hoped to fill a semi truck with water, baby food, diapers, non perishable food and emergency supplies such as flashlights and batteries at the church at 4301 Pearl Ave. in Lorain and other sites.
But now, they need four to six semi trucks to haul donations early Sept. 30 to New York City
to add to a ship bound for Puerto Rico, said the Rev. Angel Arroyo, a Lorain city councilman working on his third disaster relief in a month.
Arroyo already made trips to Houston and to Florida on behalf of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma victims.
“We’re packed,” Arroyo said Sept. 27 with more donations arriving. “We have a guarantee of four semi trucks. We’re looking to take up to six semis on Saturday.”
Retired Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper A. J. Torres said drivers are donating use of their trucks and their time to haul the gifts to the port in New York.
So the men are collecting donations to pay for fuel for the trip.
“It was overwhelming,” Torres said. “The people have been unbelievable, the compassion we’ve gotten from Lorain County and elsewhere. People called from out of state, even.”
At the Puerto Rican Home at 1603 E. 28th St. in Lorain, 21 pallets are ready to load onto a semi truck, Arroyo said.
Each semi can hold 24 to 30 pallets depending on weight of the items, he said, so the trucks will be weighed before they leave early Saturday morning.
The donations will be received by a Mayors Association in Puerto Rico, Torres said.
“It’s not going to San Juan or another community,” he said. “It’s going to the whole island.
“We’ve gotten everything from dog food to Pampers, toiletries and feminine products to food. Right now, there is a shortage of food in Puerto Rico. Mayors of communities are coming to get truckloads and take it to their communities.”
The last donations for this shipment will be accepted at 5 p.m., Sept. 29, so trucks can be loaded that evening for an early morning departure, Torres said.
Family pets also victims
Torres pointed to a pallet of dog food.
“We’re not leaving animals out,” he said. “They need food also.”
About 150 volunteers arrived to help pack pallets, Torres said.
Also, women from the church and from Puerto Rican Home cooked for them, he said.
Companies who came alongside the effort include Key Foods, Southside Market, Lito’s Place, Headliners Barber Shop, Mi Casa, United Auto Workers 2000 and United Auto Workers in Kentucky, which sent a box truck and trailer filled with items to Lorain, Arroyo said.
Some areas of Puerto Rico are blessed with potable spring water, he said. But in other areas, the flooding turned the water to mud.
Also, Puerto Rico is experiencing a bottleneck in warehouses, Torres said.
“Our goal is to get it there,” he said. “The National Guard is out there. Hopefully, the (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will get involved.
“There’s a lot of people suffering over there. We’re trying to do our part. Now let the government do theirs.”
Preparing the items
In the warehouse, about 25 people were smiling and chatting as they energetically packed and wrapped pallets of water, food or supplies.
“Saving Puerto Rico is what we’re doing,” said Antonio Barrios, executive director of Lorain Arts Council, as he held his arms wide open and smiled.
At 7 p.m., about 125 people gathered in the sanctuary at Sacred Heart Chapel for a prayer vigil.
Arroyo said no matter where in the world they live, every Puerto Rican has a family member on the island.
Trucking firm RDF Logistics donated a semi truck to help the cause, Arroyo said, and others stepped forward.
Church service
Sister Cathy McConnell, a pastoral associate at Sacred Heart Chapel, said Catholic Charities already is on site in Puerto Rico and Mexico helping disaster victims and their families.
At the door, each person was given a stem of flowers. After scripture readings, prayers and songs, the people filed to the front and placed the flowers in blue pails in front of the altar to represent their petitions to God, McConnell said.
The prayer vigil began with the lights out and silence to represent solidarity with the disaster victims, McConnell said.
“The greatest darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of Christ,” said Deacon Lou Maldonado.
Deacon Juan “Rocky” Ortiz also led portions of the ceremony.
McConnell said regardless of circumstances, the quality of love is all people have to give to others.
“It doesn’t matter if we live a day or a century,” she said. “What matters is how we love.”
As people placed their flowers before the alter, they smiled through tears and gave each other many hugs.
A choir sang a gently upbeat song. When they were done, a small child echoed the song in a sweet voice.
An offering was taken to pay trip expenses for the trucks, and two offering boxes were available for gifts for Puerto Rico and for Mexico.
How many semi truckloads does it take to fill a ship with love for Puerto Rico?
“Donations are overwhelming,” Torres said. “It’s a total blessing.”