New Westminster residents have generously reached out to people in the Philippines who are suffering in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
City council has approved a one-time donation of $5,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help communities affected by the typhoon. The funds will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross, through a group of local Filipinos who have raised thousands of dollars for relief efforts.
Salve Dayao, co-owner of Java Jazz Bistro on Sixth Street, and friends have raised more than $40,000 for relief efforts through a variety of projects, including telethons at the local restaurant. They’ve gathered and phoned everyone they know to seek donations for relief efforts.
“People have been coming in to Java Jazz and dropping off money,” she said. “The governments extended the (matching) deadline from Dec. 9 to Dec. 23. The provincial and federal governments are matching it. We are working hard to raise money.”
Dayao was among the local residents who took part in a recent fundraising performance in Vancouver.
"It was standing-room only, and it was packed,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr, who attended the event. "There must have been a couple thousand people there.”
Coun. Betty McIntosh noted a local group is collecting medications that are nearing their expiry date and no longer needed and sending them to the Philippines. She said people are having health issues in the aftermath of the typhoon, but they do not have access to medications.
Typhoon Haiyan struck several islands in the Philippines in November, killing nearly 6,000 people and leaving millions impacted by the devastation it left behind.
