Queens is the most diverse county in the country. Perhaps it is the most generous too.
Across the borough, people from all walks of life have pitched in raising funds and collecting goods to send to the survivors of the earthquake, which according to Haitian authorities may have killed as many as 200,000 people. The number of those affected is estimated to reach upwards of three million.
“We want to do our part to help the situation down there,” said Frank Zanakis, manager at Plum Restaurant and Lounge in Bayside. Plum, located at 47-39 Bell Boulevard, will donate to the Red Cross 100 percent of the proceeds from dinner sales between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. from Monday, February 1 to Wednesday, February 3 and the proceeds from brunch sales between the hours of 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, February 7. “It’s our small part to raise awareness and hopefully encourage other businesses as well,” said Zanakis.
In Elmhurst, Queens Center has partnered with the American Red Cross to collect monetary donations in the form of cash, check and credit card. The mall, located at 90-15 Queens Boulevard, has placed a collection site and made envelopes available at Guest Services on Level 2 in the JCPenney Wing.
Also donating cash – and lots of it – are the employees of American Airlines and American Eagle from JFK and LGA who raised more than $24,000 of funds from passengers, in food and bake sales, and through raffles. The employees who won the raffles returned their winnings to the fundraising campaign, which is continuing.
Plum, Queens Center mall and American Airlines have taken heed of the American Red Cross’ plea to send cash donations because of the logistical problems – and expense – of bring durable goods into Port-au-Prince.
“Cash by far is the best way to help the Red Cross,” said disaster specialist Steve McAndrew via telephone from the Haitian capital. “There is an expense to loading containers and shipping to Haiti. With cash on the ground we can put people back to work.”
McAndrew added that oftentimes they receive “items that are really no good” because the Red Cross has minimum standards, for example, relating to the square footage that a tent must be to cover a person, for grams of bath soaps per person or for the type of water containers.
“If we are going to help, you want to do it right,” he said.
However, the Red Cross understands that people want to help but they ask individuals to find out what items will be accepted by other relief organizations and how they will get those items down to Haiti.
Securing a way to get items down to Port-au-Prince was the first thing a group of Douglaston and Little Neck moms did. Mellissa Hodgen and Veronica Barry – a member of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy – had learned that Amerijet International, a cargo transportation service, had been cleared to deliver medical supplies, rice, beans and tents to Port-au-Prince. A company called World Fuel Services donated the fuel.
“In the span of a week we bombarded people with phone calls, Facebook messages, word-of-mouth,” said Hodgen, adding that Barry spread the word to the Parent Teacher Associations at P.S. 98, M.S. 68 and Uniondale High School. On Saturday, January 23, they collected close to a ton of rice and beans, plus tents – including three new ones with money raised by students at Uniondale High. “We realized how easy it is that we want to do it again. Even if you have a family and a full-time job, you can do so much to help.”
On Monday, January 18, the Astoria community also came together to support Haiti. Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., local community leaders Jeremiah Frei-Pearson, Karla Mosley Frei-Pearson, Costa Constantinides and over 50 community members came together to donate seven carloads of food, clothing and other materials for the people of Haiti at Astoria’s Trinity Lutheran Church. Vallone’s office, located at 22-45 31st Street, second floor, will continue collecting items like batteries, flashlights, summer clothing, water, canned goods that can be opened without a can opener, sleeping bags, blankets, sheets and tents during the week.
In an agency-wide effort Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) held a bake sale on Friday, January 22 that included special events held at the Center for Active Older Adults in Sunnyside and the Beacon Center at IS-5 in Elmhurst.
“Thanks to their efforts and to the many members of the community who stopped in to donate and lend their support, I am proud to announce that SCS is sending $2,600 to support Doctors Without Borders and the American Red Cross,” said SCS executive director Judy Zangwill.
In Long Island City, a collection of food, medicine, first aid supplies, clothing and blankets has been organized by local resident Rebecca Smith-Tolley. The local gourmet market Foodcellar and Co, along with Smith-Tolley’s home, will serve as a drop off point for collections. Call 718-606-2953 between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. for details.
Also in LIC, Vernon Pharmacy has created medical care packages for Haiti that it will sell for $10 (Package A – basic hygiene), $25 (Package B – medications) and $30 (Package C – Johnson & Johnson First Aid Kit). Vernon Pharmacy, 48-15 Vernon Boulevard, will also donate $100 of supplies for every $1,000 raised through the sale of the care packages.
In what might be the largest Haitian relief event in Queens, the Clergy United for Community Empowerment will host a benefit concert on Saturday, January 30 from 4 to 7 p.m at the Center for Performing Arts at York College, located at 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Jamaica.
The free concert, called “Humanity for Haiti, A Night of Inspiration,” hopes to raise funds, non-perishable items and provide educational resources about agencies in the local community,
“We want to bring people together,” said Reverend Curtis Norton, the Pastor at Merrick Park Baptist Church in Cambria Heights. “It’s going to be a long-term. This is worse than Katrina.”
