Mayor Lightfoot Calls on Residents and Business Community to Support Puerto Rican Relief and Aid Efforts

City issues call to action to support Puerto Rico island impacted by recent earthquakes

CHICAGO – Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today issued a call to action to residents, the business community and other partners of the City of Chicago asking them to join in efforts to generate awareness and resources to support the people of Puerto Rico amid the recent earthquakes. To learn more about ways to support Puerto Rico, the City has launched a new website, cityofchicago.org/disasterrelief, allowing residents and other interested individuals any easy way to find organizations whose efforts will directly aid the people of Puerto Rico.

“Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico need our City’s support in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that have hit the island over these past several weeks. Despite the shameful inaction of the Trump Administration, we have also witnessed the remarkable resiliency and resolve that has marked Puerto Rico’s character and culture throughout its history,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “Just as we did in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the City of Big Shoulders stands ready with open arms for those who need refuge and support as they rebuild their homes and their lives. To our Puerto Rican community on the island and here in Chicago, you are our family and friends, and you can always count on us to stand by your side.”

Just as all of Chicagoans came together to offer relief, shelter and aid after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Ricans once again need the assistance of the City of Chicago, as more than 300,000 people lack access to clean water, roads are blocked and the island is facing upwards of $3.1 billion in economic losses.

Direct donations can also be made to the Puerto Rican Agenda (puertoricanchicago.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Puerto Ricans both here in Chicago and in the Commonwealth.

World Business Chicago (WBC), a non-profit partner that serves as a liaison to the business community, will lead efforts to partner with Chicago’s corporate community to provide much needed support for Puerto Rico.

“Our hearts go out to our neighbors, friends and family who have loved ones affected by the ongoing earthquake activity in Puerto Rico,” said Andrea Zopp, President & CEO, World Business Chicago.  “As a city we stepped up significantly to provide support to Puerto Rico after the hurricanes in 2017,” she explained, adding, “our help is needed again, and WBC is committed and ready to help Mayor Lightfoot and her administration work with other organizations to pull together resources to support the recovery effort in Puerto Rico.”

WBC has partnered with Chicago-based, woman-led start-up LuminAid to purchase unique, solar powered lamps and lanterns that will be distributed to those who are living in tents because their homes were destroyed or became uninhabitable resulting from the recent earthquakes. WBC invites anyone interested in joining its effort to make a donation using this link: LUMINAID.

Walgreens is supporting relief efforts in Puerto Rico as many communities work to recover in the aftermath of earthquakes through donated supplies such as over-the-counter medications, personal hygiene items, baby formula and sunscreen to emergency shelters in the region, in addition to donating water to the municipality of Peñuelas.

The Mayor and the City Council last week introduced a resolution recognizing and expressing condolences to the people of Puerto Rico. Chicago is home to more than 100,000 residents of Puerto Rican descent, and this population contributes greatly to the City’s culture and communities. Additionally, Paseo Boricua is the only officially recognized Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Country.

For more information and ways you can help with hurricane and disaster relief, please visit: cityofchicago.org/disasterrelief. To support the Puerto Rican Agenda, please visit: puertoricanchicago.org.