AccuWeather asks for donations to help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico

AccuWeather spends a lot of time focusing on the weather as a global phenomenon.

With a new charitable effort, the Ferguson Township-based company will be focusing its resources on one town in need.

“We are aware of the tremendous damage that Hurricane Maria caused in Puerto Rico, probably more than most because we’re in the business and we understand the impact. We predicted before it even hit how catastrophic it would be,” said Joel Myers, AccuWeather founder, president and chairman.

So while the U.S. government works on aid packages and Federal Emergency Management Agency workers continue to work on bringing the whole island of 3.4 million people back to its pre-hurricane life, AccuWeather is trying to do that for Patillas, a village of 20,000 people near the southeastern coast, one of the first parts hit by the storm. It was a Category 4 when it struck Patillas, a remote area where life has still not gotten back to normal.

AccuWeather has a shipping container coming to its headquarters. Then it will start the work of collecting things to send to the village.

The list includes the obvious: canned goods, water, cleaning supplies, baby formula and over-the-counter medicine. It also includes things that might be overlooked, such as twin-size sheets and blankets, summer clothes and flip-flops.

“We spoke several times with the mayor of the town and they provided us with the things that were needed, basic needs for people to survive and stay healthy,” Myers said.

Mayor of Patillas Norberto Soto Figueroa said he and the community are grateful for AccuWeather’s efforts.

“We are suffering, but it is a relief to know that help is on its way and that people understand and care about our catastrophic and heart-breaking situation,” Soto Figueroa said.

And then there are ways to give money, the thing that fills in all the other holes.

The company is partnering with the Centre Foundation so that donations will be tax deductible. Online donations can go through the charity’s website at www.centre-foundation.org and click on the “Fund” menu and select “Heath and Social Services” to access AccuWeather’s Rays of Hope Fund.

Checks with Rays of Hope Fund on the memo line can be mailed to: Centre Foundation, 1377 Ridge Master Drive, State College, PA 16801.

Myers is hoping to collect more than $50,000.

“If we get enough, we can get a second container,” Myers said.

AccuWeather started approaching the project internally, but decided to open to “neighbors, businesses, surrounding communities, really whoever wants to donate.”

AccuWeather will also be involved in the distribution of the products in Puerto Rico.

“We want to make sure that what we send reaches the people, to be effective, to check all the boxes,” Myers said.

Donations will be accepted at the company’s Science Park Road offices Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The deadline for donations is Oct. 24.

This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 6:36 PM with the headline "AccuWeather asks for donations to help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico."