5 (Easy) Ways to Help Hurricane Victims in Puerto Rico

BY: ALEXIS ARNOLD

Getting access to basic essentials is the difference between life and death for Hurricane Maria survivors. Puerto Rico's power grid has been knocked out by the storm, and officials say that it could take up to six months for electricity to be restored. Food, water, medicine and other daily essentials are unreachable –  Puerto Rico needs our help. Here are five trusted charities and organizations that you can donate to in order to support relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

🇵🇷 Nos empiezan a llegar imagenes del Viejo San Juan. Ãrbol caido frente a la Puerta de San Juan, nada grave estamos VIVOS. 📷: @lfdelvalle . . #puertorico #puertoricogram #oldsanjuan #sanjuan #viejosanjuan #PuertoRicoStrong #PuertoRicoseLevanta #mariahurricane #Huracanmaria #hurricanemaria

A post shared by PUERTO RICO 🇵🇷 (@puertoricogram) on Sep 26, 2017 at 8:55am PDT

1. "Mi Gente"

Beyoncé added a feature on the song "Mi Gente" by J Balvin and Willy William, and will be donating all proceeds from the record to relief efforts in Mexico and the Caribbean. Every download means a song for you and help for someone in need. "Mi Gente" can be found on Tidal and Apple Music. Visit Beyonce.com for more information.

I am donating my proceeds from this song to hurricane relief charities for Puerto Rico, Mexico and the other affected Caribbean islands. To help go to Beyonce.com/reliefefforts.

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Sep 28, 2017 at 6:09pm PDT

2. United for Puerto Rico

D.C. area volunteers are having a collection drive on behalf of United for Puerto Rico, an initiative started by the First Lady of Puerto Rico to help the island recover. They are accepting bottled water, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, canned and dry foods, pillows, blankets and other daily essentials. You can drop off donations at 1031 N. Vermont Street in Arlington, Virginia or donate online.

3. Carmelo Anthony's YouCaring campaign

NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony is trying to raise one million dollars for Puerto Rico. His YouCaring campaign has raised more than $300,000 so far, but still has a long way to go. If you can't donate your time, a generous (and tax-deductible) donation can go a long way.

Road to recovery in #PuertoRico won't be easy,
but I'll be there every step of the way. Visit my @youcaring page https://t.co/SKjHbMCTI2 pic.twitter.com/ecHHa66BfS

— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) September 28, 2017

4. Hurricane Relief Love Project

Arts and crafts lovers will be happy to find the Hurricane Relief Project. You can sew drawstring backpacks that will be filled with relief supplies and sent to Puerto Rico, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands,  St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Dominica. The free event will be is hosted by Sip and Sew Old Town on Oct. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. You can register on Eventbrite.

Our first passion project! We will make drawstring backpacks and fill them with love for hurricane victims! Sunday October 22nd from 4:30-8:30. In Alexandria VA Link to sign up in the bio.

A post shared by Sip And Sew OldTown (@sipandsewoldtown) on Sep 25, 2017 at 5:27am PDT

5. The Davenport Coffee Lounge

You don't have to leave campus to help Puerto Rico. The Dav last week introduced The Resilient Tea, a specialty mango tea drink that will be served through the first week of November. All proceeds from the beverage will benefit United for Puerto Rico. The small drink is $3, the large is $4 and the iced version of the tea costs $4.50.