Evacuation Flights From Puerto Rico
Donation protected
By now you know the devastation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. No electricity. No water. Restrictions on how much gasoline you can buy. Restrictions on how much cash you can get out of the bank ($100 per person). Hospitals over capacity. Medication in low supply. Concerns about diseases spreading. It is a difficult environment for anyone, but particularly stressful and concerning for the elderly, children, and people with medical needs. To complicate matters, only a few commercial airplanes are allowed in and out of the island, so getting out of the island via a commercial flight is nearly impossible.
To help those in the most need, celebrities and others started sending their private planes to pick up cancer patients, elderly, people needing medical care, etc. And we thought -- we can do that too! We started this effort looking for a charter plane to get our parents (who are elderly and already out of their medications), sick friends, and children out. But we soon realized that there were a lot of people who were just like our family and needed help, and there were plenty of people in the mainland that wanted to help. We paired up with a dedicated charter company who has been going above and beyond to find us a plane, and next thing you know -- we think we have an airliner! Now we just need the funding to pay to get it down to and out of Puerto Rico. Expected cost is around $100K for 100 people (so about $1K per person) for the airliner. But these are people that can't afford even that amount given everything that they just lost. Which is why we are setting up this campaign! Now you can have a direct and tangible impact in the Puerto Rico rescue efforts. This isn't donating with hopes that the money gets used to help someone. This is literally getting people that need to get out of Puerto Rico in a plane and to the mainland U.S. Help us fund this evacuation flight! Every little bit helps.
We will be prioritizing (1) people over 65, (2) people with medical needs (unfortunately charters can't take bedridden people -- folks need to be able to walk up the plane stairs), and (3) families with children.
UPDATE: We have some people that need to get out faster than how long it will take us to raise sufficient funds for an airliner. We can start getting people out piecemeal via smaller planes. So the donations will start going towards smaller charter planes that will do multiple evacuation trips. It costs more per person, but it is more timely. In no event will this money be used for anything other than bringing our fellow citizens to safety!
Finally, note that we are currently trying to pair up with a charity that will be coordinating some of these efforts, so donations may be tax-deductible. We will confirm if and when that occurs.
Thank you so much!
To help those in the most need, celebrities and others started sending their private planes to pick up cancer patients, elderly, people needing medical care, etc. And we thought -- we can do that too! We started this effort looking for a charter plane to get our parents (who are elderly and already out of their medications), sick friends, and children out. But we soon realized that there were a lot of people who were just like our family and needed help, and there were plenty of people in the mainland that wanted to help. We paired up with a dedicated charter company who has been going above and beyond to find us a plane, and next thing you know -- we think we have an airliner! Now we just need the funding to pay to get it down to and out of Puerto Rico. Expected cost is around $100K for 100 people (so about $1K per person) for the airliner. But these are people that can't afford even that amount given everything that they just lost. Which is why we are setting up this campaign! Now you can have a direct and tangible impact in the Puerto Rico rescue efforts. This isn't donating with hopes that the money gets used to help someone. This is literally getting people that need to get out of Puerto Rico in a plane and to the mainland U.S. Help us fund this evacuation flight! Every little bit helps.
We will be prioritizing (1) people over 65, (2) people with medical needs (unfortunately charters can't take bedridden people -- folks need to be able to walk up the plane stairs), and (3) families with children.
UPDATE: We have some people that need to get out faster than how long it will take us to raise sufficient funds for an airliner. We can start getting people out piecemeal via smaller planes. So the donations will start going towards smaller charter planes that will do multiple evacuation trips. It costs more per person, but it is more timely. In no event will this money be used for anything other than bringing our fellow citizens to safety!
Finally, note that we are currently trying to pair up with a charity that will be coordinating some of these efforts, so donations may be tax-deductible. We will confirm if and when that occurs.
Thank you so much!
Organizer
Emma Rodriguez-Ayala
Organizer
Chicago, IL