NW Side Becomes Epicenter For Philippines Disaster Relief
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It started out as a simple idea over breakfast. In a matter of hours, there was a room full of donations at the Rizal Center, 1332 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago.
"We have slabs of water, canned goods, bags of supplies. The donations keep on coming," said event organizer Ray Borja.
Boxes and boxes are being packed and sealed to be loaded aboard a cargo flight that will transport the items to the Philippines.
NW Side Becomes Epicenter For Philippines Disaster Relief
Organizer Ron Vergara says they are looking for anything from water, to canned goods, to blankets to medical supplies.
"From what I read, 4.2 million people are starving. We need to get together. We need to do whatever it takes to help and we will."
Cars lined Irving Park Road west of Clark as volunteers acted as traffic control for vehicles pulling in to drop off supplies. Borja says he never expected such a large response.
"I'm overwhelmed, I really am. I never expected it to get this big," he laughed.
Volunteers will be working with the Red Cross to distribute the donations to the hardest hit areas.
"We'll be out here taking donations as long as it takes," said Borja.
