SMLC donates $820 for Typhoon Odette victims
The Saipan Marianas Lions Club has donated $820 to those affected by Super Typhoon Rai, better known as Typhoon Odette in the Philippines.
In an email yesterday from SMLC immediate past president Ladyvir Canape, she said the $820 was converted to 40,374 Philippine pesos through Rustans LLC, and was sent to Mary Ann Madriaga, a former SMLC member who happens to be from Surigao City, last Dec. 14. The city is one of the regions most devastated by the typhoon.
The funds are intended for those in the Surigao City, Siargao, and Daraga regions and will be used for purchasing solar lights, medicine, and drinking water, said Canape.
Canape added in her email that Madriaga is currently a member of the Batangas Saudi 101 Lion Club, and that the $820 donation was possible through a collaboration between the club and SMLC.
As to how the $820 was pooled, Canape said the money came from past SMLC fundraising activities and from personal donations by SMLC members and officers. The SMLC members and officers Canape recognized in her email included SMLC president Lolly Velasco, vice president Dyna Cabrera, and members Marlyn Dougherty, Agnes Camacho, Daisy Gerona, and Jhun Canape.
Canape also thanked Precy Cruz of Rustans LLC for helping SMLC with the donation.
For Canape and SMLC, she said it was sad to see her fellow compatriots go through hardships because of Typhoon Odette, especially during the holiday season.
“It’s so sad to know that our kababayans [compatriots] in the southern part of the Philippines are suffering during [the] holidays, [and] that is why we sent whatever help we can extend right away,” she said.