BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A Brevard County Puerto Rico Relief Fund is almost done with phase three of their utility building, but the organization is in need of donations to make it happen.
- Relief fund nearly done with its utility building but needs help
- The organization needs donations to finish up its headquarters
- Margarita Chavez says she's currently helping 289 families
Margarita Chavez is a full-time volunteer for U.T.B. Puerto Rican Relief Fund. While recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, she took it upon herself to help those displaced by Hurricane Maria after their headquarters at the local airport closed down.
Chavez was not going to let anything get in the way of helping Puerto Ricans escaping devastation, even if that meant turning her van into a mobile office.
Putting hundreds of miles on her car, she helped people with FEMA resources, finding a place to stay, and anything she could do to help them while recovering from cancer.
“I had to have the files and folders in my car, (and) in the morning create another folder for another client,” Chavez explained.
She would help the displaced find housing, help get the children into schools, translate documents, and help file FEMA documentation.
U.T.B. purchased a utility building to serve as their new headquarters, they completed phase 1 and 2, but need the public’s help with phase 3. The building is called Tikkum, Olam which is Hebrew for helping repair a broken world.
The nonprofit needs help putting the final touches to the new headquarters, from donations to give people, to the basics like making the structure flood-proof.
Chavez says she’s currently helping 289 families in the county and is hoping the new headquarter will be ready in time for hurricane season.