‘The Real Housewives of New York’ star Bethenny Frankel is using her resources to help Puerto Rico in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.
She’s chartered four planes — one of which she paid for all with her own money — to distribute supplies to Puerto Ricans in need.
They’re also trying to organize a trip to the island with a fifth plane.
via E!
With the help of Doctors4Puertorico.com, Fundacionhospitalpediatico.org, University Pediatric Hospital, Delivering Good, Global Empowerment Mission and Feeding America—in addition to her own charity B Strong—Frankel will be delivering, per info she shared on Instagram, “$25k in Costco gift cards, $25k in cash gift cards and approximately 15k lbs of food, water and medical supplies.”
The team will also be transporting citizens in need of urgent medical attention due to cancer, diabetes and other medical conditions, including a baby that has suffered cardiac arrest.
The reality star has been one of the many active voices advocating for more help for the Puerto Rican community, urging her followers and fellow Housewives to join the effort and provide aid.
She has even offered to shoulder the responsibility of organizing the distribution in return for donations, saying on Twitter, “Hwives casts,celebs,hedge funders,networks I have med supplies & mds needing to get to PR.Chip in for plane & I’ll fill it & bring sick home.”
Her calls for help were answered by many of her followers and colleagues, as people such as Andy Cohen of Watch What Happens Live! chipped in to help her deliver supplies from cities across the east coast.
Frankel, who recently underwent surgery on her face to remove skin cancer, is actively taking part in the rescue effort by personally distributing supplies in the city of San Juan. This generosity is not uncommon for Frankel, as she returned only a week ago from a trip to Mexico City with the purpose of providing aid for those affected by the nearly 7.1 magnitude earthquake which left 360 dead and many still missing.
The businesswoman and mother continues to urge people to donate to the relief effort in Puerto Rico, but took a moment to acknowledge the tragedy that occurred in Las Vegas last night, letting those affected by the shooting know that, “We are not forgetting you while in Puerto Rico.”
For people looking to donate to the cause and help Frankel with her efforts, Frankel has set up a donation site to her charity B Strong in coordination with Delivering Good.
This is awesome! We can’t let the news of the last day or so take us completely away from the fact that there are millions of Americans in desperate need of food and water in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
