A dollar goes a long way: Lebanon residents help feed Dominican families after Hurricane Fiona
In December of 2019, Betsy and Chris Garr decided to move permanently to Bayahimbe, a town in the Dominican Republic off the shore of the Caribbean Sea. Originally a vacation destination with their children, the couple decided to open a restaurant called Gringos, an American Grill.
"They decided that they wanted to enjoy their life, so they left," said their daughter, Lebanon resident Leah Paronish. "(My mom) planned on doing something just to keep her brain busy ... so her restaurant came up for sale, and she bought it probably three weeks before they shut the restaurants down there" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But since Hurricane Fiona hit back in September, the Garrs have been using their time to deliver food and staple items to residents throughout the island who do not have water and electricity.
It's an effort their daughter in Pennsylvania wanted to contribute to. Paronish set up a GoFundMe to help, and her parents have been able to serve over 500 meals to the people of Bayahibe.
"It hasn't raised a ton of money, it's only $1,500, but that goes a long way down there," Paronish said.
Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic on Sept. 19, pounding the islands with up to 30 inches of rain, triggering overwhelming flooding, mudslides, and destruction.
Fiona is the first hurricane to directly hit the Dominican Republic since Jeanne in September 2004. The storm forced more than 12,500 people out of their homes and left 709,000 without power after the storm initially hit, according to the national Emergency Operations Center.
"They don't have the resources, they don't have FEMA. They don't have what we have to get back on their feet," Paronish said. "So you got to do something, and I feel if you can you should. So that's what we are doing."
The family never started out with any type of organized donation. Paronish and her family would just "take a few extra suitcases down that would come back empty."
"We go about six times a year, and I'll just take down backpacks (and) school supplies," she said. "My friends who have kids will give me clothes to take down. But we've always done something every time we go."
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A backpack for a child in a town could cost $80, according to Paronish. But her mother would take a whole suitcase full of used backpacks after visiting her daughter to donate to the nearby kids.
"This is the first organized fundraiser we've done, but it's probably not the last," Paronish said about her GoFundMe page.
Only asking for a $1,000 dollars, Paronish said she was not planning on what to do with the funds once she exceeded her total. That was until her mother received word of a handicapped man who needed a new roof.
"My mom took him over the money after she heard about not having the money for his roof, and that extra $500 took care of somebody's house," she said. "Anything that comes over, (my mom) is just continuing to deliver food longer."
The family is considering more options for donations to the Dominican Republic in the future, whether it is another GoFundMe or some type of donation drive. Paronish knows her operation is a smaller scale, but anything people can give goes a long way to the residents of Bayahibe.
"I'm thankful cause I know times are really hard, and inflation is real," she said. "It's a lot to ask people right now, because a lot of people are struggling here. But I'm thankful there are people willing to donate a dollar, cause it does go a lot farther."
But regardless of what is happening back in Pennsylvania, Paronish said her mother will continue to find was to get more donations out to the residents of Bayahibe and beyond.
"She's not going to stop doing it," Paronish said. "She's going to make sure every house is put back together, all the electric is, the water's on and everyone is fed."
Residents looking to donate to Paronish's causes can visit her GoFundMe account at gofundme.com/f/arrqr-dominican-republic or email her at leah.paronish@gmail.com.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Fundraiser helps feeds Dominican families affected by Hurricane Fiona
