Many of you know already, the Caribbean is near and dear to Jennifer’s heart, but Puerto Rico holds a very special place. It’s where her sister, Molly Assad lives with her family and mother, Patricia. Molly, her family and mother where a few of the lucky ones and able to leave the island before Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, slammed into Puerto Rico on September 20.
Jennifer, center, with her sister Molly and mom Patricia in Florida in early October
Since the hurricane, Puerto Rico is struggling. Empty shelves, no electricity, no water, no gas. Downed power lines, impassable roads, homes and belongs covered in mud as flood waters recede. The Jones Act, which requires that shipments between two US seaports travel only on US-flagged vessels, built in US shipyards, with American owners and crews, has unfortunately made it difficult for much needed supplies to arrive quickly. Puerto Ricans are working hard and doing everything they can to rebuild but it will take months and years.
Immediately after the hurricane, Jennifer’s sister Molly, had been getting reports off the island about the dire situation and swiftly jumped in to help from Florida. She has shopped for supplies herself and had them shipped over, and contacted owners of private planes to fly in larger lots of supplies. Jennifer saw everything her sister was doing and immediately began donating herself and offering up her paintings, fabric, patterns for sale on Facebook and Instagram with part of the proceeds going directly to her sister and her efforts. Thanks to you, our Sis Boom fans, we have raised over $4,000!!! Thank you all who have donated directly and purchased items benefiting our efforts. We appreciate it so much!
But, there is still much do be done. If you’d like to help, please consider donating directly to Molly’s GoFundMe Account or the fundraiser Jennifer started on Facebook benefiting Habitat for Humanity in Puerto Rico.
Finally, most of the Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma, which hit earlier in September, rely mainly on tourism dollars. So please consider spending your vacation dollars in the next year in the Caribbean if you can; they are vitally important to the region’s economy and long term recovery.
