Page 51 - October Newsletter

Members Only Section
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A helping hand from Chicago Police to Puerto Rico
n BY DAN CAMPANA
Puerto Rican Police Association Vice President Marilyn Go- mez can’t help but cry at times. It’s easy to understand given the devastation left behind on the island of Puerto Rico by Hurri- cane Maria.
“It breaks my heart to see and hear what the people of Puerto Rico are enduring,” said Gomez, who works in the 14th District. “No food. No water. No electricity. Some without homes.”
Motivated by human nature and, for many, personal connec- tions to their homeland, the association teamed up with other organizations to host a hurricane relief fundraiser on Sept. 28 at Lazos Tacos on North Western Avenue to collect money and much-needed items for the people of Puerto Rico and Mexico.
“We had a lot of people step up to the plate,” PRPA member Ray Casiano said. “Within two hours, we were able to raise well over $30,000.”
Beyond the money, donations poured in with the “bare ne- cessities” of diapers, batteries, water and other basic items the people of Puerto Rico so desperately need, Casiano said — call- ing the contributions “overwhelming.”
Casiano grew up on the northern side of Puerto Rico and ex- perienced Hurricane David as a youngster in the late 1970s. He recalled being evacuated to a local grammar school, sleeping on floors and drinking powdered milk.
All of that pales in comparison to what’s happening now, with utilities incapacitated, people drinking rainwater and cell phone service spotty at best in the weeks following the storm’s landfall in mid-September. Casiano eventually was able to reach his relatives by phone to learn just how bad things have been.
“The stories they tell me, it’s 10 times worse than what you see on TV,” Casiano explained.
Puerto Rico is home to PRPA Treasurer Luis Arroyo’s parents, who are in their 80s, his four siblings, and nieces and nephews. It took eight days before Arroyo made contact with his family to learn everyone is OK.
“The way they described Puerto Rico now felt to them like they went backward 40-plus years,” Arroyo shared.
All of that pushed the PRPA to quickly organize the event with the help of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, Latin American Police Organization and Chicago firefighters.
“To help with the relief effort meant a lot for me,” Arroyo said. “I know I couldn’t do anything in Puerto Rico, but with the help of PRPA, PRBA and LAPA, we’re about to send $10,000 to Puerto Rico and $10,000 to Mexico, along with [the] donated needed items to Puerto Rico.”
Added Gomez, “The PRPA law enforcement members are ready to deploy with all the donations collected and to be uti- lized in any capacity needed.”
The helping spirit has touched many others, including De-
tective Marco Acev-
edo, who put out the
word that he wanted
to load up a van with
goods to send back
to Puerto Rico. It
didn’t take long be-
fore cases of water,
bags of rice and box-
es of juice pouches
— and many more
items — filled the
van, thanks to Acev-
edo’s fellow detectives in Unit 384 and LaSalle Language Acade- my students, parents and faculty.
All the items were delivered to Casa Puertorriqueña, which was orchestrating a larger humanitarian effort to help the re- covery efforts in Puerto Rico. Acevedo credited community sup- port for making it all happen in just three days.
“Amazing,” Acevedo said, reflecting on the feat. d
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ OCTOBER 2017 51