By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Hurricane Matthew left destruction in it’s path last month, taking the lives of nearly 1,000 people and leveling most of the southern portion of Haiti.
Two North Shore organizations have stepped up to raise money to support the Haitian people.
On Saturday, Marblehead’s Clifton Lutheran Church hopes to match the $2,000 they raised from local banks to support the Mission of Hope, the Haiti-based nonprofit whose mission is to create jobs and provide healthcare to remote regions of the impoverished island in the Caribbean.
“Haiti is a muddy mess and our efforts are aimed at helping to feed, clothe and house people,” said Clifton Pastor James Bixby. “Our goal is to get things in place so that the next time there’s a crisis, the nation will be prepared.”
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There’s no charge for the event that starts at 4:30 p.m. But Bixby said he will ask people to be generous when they write a check at the end of the evening.
On Saturday, Nov. 26, Lynn’s Senior Action Center, formerly known as the Haitian Elders Action League, will hold its annual fundraising gala at the Franco-American War Veterans hall.
Proceeds from the event, which is expected to raise about $8,000, will to used support its programs for elders and raise money to replace a school in Les Cayes that was leveled by the hurricane.
“More than 600 students have no place for learning, so we hope this money will start the effort to rebuild,” said William Joseph, owner of Globo Computer Learning Center in Lynn and a self-described community activist.
“It won’t be enough to complete the job, but enough to build some classrooms and get students back to school.”
Joseph, 65, who emigrated from Haiti in the 1980s, has three sisters who live in Haiti. While they are safe, the home where Joseph’s family was raised in Baraderes was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.
“Thank God my sisters moved from that house long before the hurricane,” he said.
This is not the first time the senior center has helped Haiti recover from a natural disaster.
After the 2010 earthquake, they collected 250,000 items including food, water, clothing and medical supplies in cooperation with the city of Lynn.
“The whole community responded,” Joseph said. “I flew to Haiti and stayed for a month to distribute the goods.”
Haiti can use the support. The United Nations has raised only a portion of the $120 million needed to cope with the devastation.
Relief workers say they are still having a tough time reaching the hardest-hit areas, where power is still out and food and water remain scarce.
“We are doing what we can to help,” Joseph said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].