Mitch Perry
Since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico 22 days ago, House Minority Leader Janet Cruz has traveled there twice to provide much-needed help to those struggling residents.
Now the Tampa Democrat is helping get ready a third shipment of goods.
On Wednesday, Cruz traveled with 30,000 pounds of relief supplies to Puerto Rico, her second trip to the ravaged island in 10 days.
After returning from the island last week with a group of Democrats — including DNC Chair Tom Perez — Cruz was motivated to help other organizations. That’s when she learned about Course of Action, a Tampa based nonprofit group formed in the wake of the storm to help those in Puerto Rico.
Led by retired U.S. Air Force Colonel E.J. Otero, the group has collected more than 2 million pounds of essential supplies over the past three weeks, transporting those goods by both air and sea.
After receiving a quote of $40,000 for a shipment, Otero put the word out to Cruz to see if she help in finding financing for the trip. She did, garnering contributions of $10,000 from the New York Yankees, $5,000 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, $5,000 from the India Festival Tampa Bay, $5,000 from AMSCOT, and the remaining $25,000 from private donations.
Officials with Course of Action say that they currently have plenty of water and clothing, but there are still many other items that can be donated. A link on the group’s website goes to an Amazon wishlist of products.
For more information, you can go to Course of Action’s website.
