Windham residents helping Puerto Rico

Michelle Warren, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·3 min read
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Oct. 21—WILLIMANTIC — As Puerto Rico continues to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, Windham residents are lending a helping hand.

On Saturday, the town is holding a fundraiser for the U.S. territory.

" I want to thank the town staff that are making this event come together with short notice," Windham Town Manager Jim Rivers said in his " Manager's Corner" post on the town website The event will run from 11 a. m. to 6 p. m.

There is no entrance fee. People can drop off their donations for Puerto Rico at a Windham- Willimantic CARES tent that will be set up at the event.

There will be music, food and fun for all during the event.

According to Rivers, musical performers are performing for free.

Hurricane Fiona hit southwest Puerto Rico on Sept. 18, when it was a Category 1 storm.

It killed Puerto Rico residents.

All of the island's nearly 1.5 million electrical customers lost power during the storm and hundreds of thousands of people lost access to water service.

Puerto Rico was still recovering from Hurricane Maria when Hurricane Fiona hit.

Hurricane Maria hit the island in Sept. 2017.

Windham- Willimantic CARES co- chair Dawn Niles, who is also president of the Windham Town Council, said as of Thursday, $4,144 had been raised.

"We bought gas saws and gasoline for three different communities in Puerto Rico," she said.

Workers at the Wal- Mart in North Windham helped the group get those supplies to Puerto Rico. Niles said currently, the group is working on a request from a community in Puerto for a few beds and mattresses. People of all ages can also get vaccinated at the clinic.

Workers from Griffin Health will administer all types of vaccination shots during the clinic.

The town of Windham and Windham Public Schools are hosting a winter coat drive during the event. The drive will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

It is open to all Windham area families.

" They're really nice- looking winter coats," Niles said.

Children's coats from sizes 3T to 18 children will be given out.

Niles said the coats are being paid for using a grant that the town received from Operation Warm, a non- profit based in Pennsylvania.

" It's first come, firstserved," she said. " They are free."

No pre- registration is required for the coat drive.

For more information about the coat drive, call Windham Recreation at 860-465-3046.

People can donate coats by bringing them to the recreation department of ice before 1 p.m. on Saturday. The recreation department is at the community/ senior center, which is at 1 Jillson Square.

Coats can also be dropped of at the event.

Donations for Puerto Rico can be made via Venmo or brought to the town clerk's office at town hall, 979 Main St. Checks should be made to " Windham- Willimantic Cares," with " coats" in the subject line. The Venmo is @ townclerk.

Follow Michelle Warren on Twitter — @mwarrentc.