Saipan Eagles Club members and volunteers accept in-kind donations from community members for the Ayuda Rota Food Drive at the Kilili Pavilion on Sunday.
The donated items for the Ayuda Rota Food Drive include rice, bottles of water, butane canisters and other grocery items.
TO help residents of Rota who were affected by Typhoon Mawar, Saipan Eagles Club held a food drive Sunday, June 4, at the Kilili Pavilion.
“We had been in this situation when we had nothing. We know how it feels that is why, us a community, we are in this together,” said the club’s Maga’Haga Lady Eagles Group immediate past president, Angelica Lastimado.
For the Ayuda Rota Food Drive, the Eagles collected boxes of butane, bags of rice, bottles of water, toiletries, among other items.
Maga’Haga Lady Eagles Group President Yolanda De Ramos said their food drive was made possible through the assistance of Sen. Dennis Mendiola of Rota and Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog.
“We coordinated with them and asked them what they needed,” De Ramos said.
For her part, Maga’Haga Lady Eagles Group Vice President Maria Aileen Arnold expressed her gratitude to the community members who participated in the food drive.
“Rota is a part of the CNMI. Our assistance, big or small, matters a lot. We want to show our love and support to a neighboring island,” she said.
De Ramos said the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Filipino community group on Rota and the recovery efforts team headed by Jessica Calvo will receive the donated items on Rota and distribute them to the families on the island.
“Thank you for your helping hands,” Arnold said. “We want to thank the whole community and all the associations and groups who made this project a success, including the people who gave their time to help out,” she added.
