Pérez Art Museum Miami (Photo by Daniel Azoulay Photography, courtesy the museum)
Before arriving at the East Coast of the United States on Tuesday, September 3, Hurricane Dorian wreaked its havoc on the Bahamas for an entire week, causing 30 deaths and significant damages to property. According to a United Nations top humanitarian aid official, the category 5 storm has left about 70,000 people “in immediate need of life-saving assistance” on Grand Bahama and Abaco. In response to the tragic news, the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has decided to lend a helping hand.
PAMM, in collaboration with the City of Miami and Food For The Poor, is collecting urgently needed supplies for survivors of the hurricane in the archipelago. “Our neighbors in the Bahamas were hit hard by Hurricane Dorian, and it is our duty as an institution at the crossroads of the Americas to help those affected by this devastation,” said the museum’s director Franklin Sirmans in a statement. “PAMM is dedicated to serving the community, and I am proud that the Miami area can come together to show our support for the Bahamas.”
Food For The Poor, a hunger relief and development nonprofit, said it will be accepting donations of canned meats, canned fish, and canned milk, both evaporated and condensed. They are also accepting hygiene kits, backpacks with school supplies, and disposable diapers. PAMM has started accepting donations starting Thursday, September 5. Members of the community are asked to bring their donations to the museum during its regular hours before the end of Sunday, September 8. Perishable items will not be accepted.
This is not the first time PAMM, Food For The Poor, and the City of Miami partnered together in the aftermath of a hurricane afflicting their neighbors. In 2016, the three joined hands in gathering supplies and sending encouraging postcards for people affected by Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean.
“We are saddened by the images of devastation and heartbroken to hear news reports that at least one child’s life has been lost to this horrific storm,” said Food For The Poor’s president and CEO Robin Mahfood. “If it were us, we would want to know that caring people would come to our aid. They have nothing left. We must respond and we must do so immediately.”
