Residents of Camden join together to raise money for Puerto Rico

City Council gathers together on stage to receive a check

By:Ariana Garcia

Camden County residents joined at 8 a.m. Oct. 8 in Von Neida Park in Camden, N.J., to raise money for Puerto Rico.

Table were volunteers picked up their buckets and had to sign in (Photo By: Ariana Garcia)

The event was held for approximately 12 hours and was organized by City Council President Frank Moran. It was hosted by Senator Nelsa Cruz and the City Council of Camden.  The event was intended to raise $100,000 dollars but they ended up raising a little over $135,000 dollars from donations. Volunteers were expected to sign in first by providing their first and last name. Once they were found they were offered a T-shirt that read, “Unidos para Puerto Rico” which means United for Puerto Rico, an admit one ticket for lunch, and a name tag. Each volunteer had a specific time they were supposed to stand on street corners by traffic lights and stop signs with a bucket to ask pedestrians and drivers if they would like to donate to help Puerto Rico.

Care bags that were placed in boxes and wrapped with plastic (Photo By: Ariana Garcia)

Community residents also helped by donating new and used clothing, water, and hygiene products. Volunteers were also helping by preparing care bags for members of Puerto Rico. They stored items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, sunblock, deodorant, toothpaste, and etc into sealable plastic bags. When the care bags were completed they were put into a box that was later wrapped with plastic. Margarita Roman a community member of Camden was a volunteer at the event on Sunday. She was very eager and

 

Volunteers preparing care bags (Photo By: Ariana Garcia)

 determined to raise money for Puerto Rico especially because her family resides there. In a brief interview Roman shared with me what her purpose was in Sunday’s event.

Roman standing at a street corner asking for donations  (Photo By: Ariana Garcia)

Roman informed me that her cousin is an employee for the Board of Education and she informed her of the event. Roman is also from the area. She stated, “I don’t live too far from Von Neida Park. I decided to volunteer today because I have family who is currently residing in Puerto Rico and also it’s a great cause. Puerto Rico is in desperate need of help and I think it’s very important we take initiative and raise money for them.” Roman also shared with me that her purpose for volunteering today was to show her children the correct steps that should be taken to help Puerto Rico. She stated, “I think it’s great that we are all able to come together and unite for Puerto Rico. It’s such a great cause and what the City Council has done is definitely being took into consideration by many Hispanics.”