South Florida volunteers prepare supplies for those affected by Hurricane Beryl

South Florida sends support to Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl batters the Caribbean

DORAL - As Hurricane Beryl barrels through Jamaica, some Jamaicans in South Florida tell us they are worried.

Adris Skein, who says her entire family is in Jamaica, says "I talked to my niece this morning and she's very concerned, but her focus is to try to get some food before the hurricane pass through."

At Global Empowerment Mission, or GEM for short, in Doral, volunteers are making sure that those riding out the storm are fed.

"We are here today to assist with this humanitarian effort to send these well-needed packages and supplies to the Caribbean," said Sandra Christie Brown.

Brown is Jamaican, and she came to volunteer along with several other Jamaican women who say they felt called to help their country.

"My cousin who is with JDF, the Jamaican Defense Force, which is the army, he called me earlier and he told me that he's on standby, so when I got the call to come here this morning, I dropped what I was doing. I know that it's helping my country and the Caribbean islands," said Bridgette Hibbert.

"We want to make sure anyone impacted by the storm, that we come together -- united as the Caribbean islands to help each other and make sure that we're reaching out," said Annette Kidd.

According to the counsel general of Jamaica, 2.9 million Jamaicans have been advised to seek shelter as Beryl looms over the island.

He says the next step is to survey the aftermath to see what areas are in need.

"We'll be setting up pick-up points for different relief items for Jamaica. We'll be assessing the damage and from there, we'll get an update for specific items that they need," said Oliver Mair, Consul General of Jamaica.

With the help of volunteers, about 400 boxes were packed Wednesday, and all of them will go to help those in the Caribbean affected by Beryl.

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