COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — Food For The Poor, a Christian nonprofit organization based in Coconut Creek, was accepting donations on Monday for Jamaicans dealing with Hurricane Melissa.
Ferdinand Mahfood, a Jamaican who died in 2023, founded the nonprofit in 1982. Episcopelians, Lutherans, and Catholics contributed to his efforts.
“We have been in Jamaica for 40 years, so we have 100 staff on the ground there right now, ready to serve,” said Ed Raine, the nonprofit’s president and chief executive officer.
The nonprofit, which employs hundreds, has a warehouse at 6401 Lyons Road. There were generators and large boxes stacked ready to be delivered.
“Jamaica is going to be our focus. We think it’s really going to be quite devastating. And the need, not just in the short term, but the long term, is going to be absolutely critical,” Raine said.
Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologists forecast Hurricane Melissa will make landfall on Tuesday in Jamaica, where flood-prone areas were under a mandatory evacuation.
There is a risk of catastrophic flash flooding and landslides with storm surge of up to 13 feet and about 40 inches of rain in some areas of Jamaica.
Authorities attributed three deaths in Haiti to and one death in the Dominican Republic to Melissa. Haiti remained under a tropical storm warning. Areas of Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands were under a hurricane watch.
For days, a team in Jamaica has been preparing relief kits. The organization has an online catalog that allows donors to choose by category. It also offers a registration page for those who want to volunteer. For more information about how to make donations, visit this page.
Related link: GuideStar profile
More on the hurricane
- Reporting from Montego Bay
- Hurricane specialist and storm surge expert’s report
- Melissa intensifies to Category 5 on path to slam into Jamaica as island’s strongest recorded storm
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