Coachella Valley collecting donations to help undocumented immigrants

Luis Sanchez, 8, and his parents passed on bags of their clothes to Fire Station 79 in Coachella Thursday. The city is collecting clothes along with food, medicine and toys to help relocation centers and shelters struggling to handle the surge of unaccompanied children and families coming from Central America.

“It’s highly likely there are some families in the Coachella Valley some of these kids are trying to get to,” said Coachella Mayor Pro Tem Steve Hernandez.

If you’d like to donate, you can drop supplies off at the fire department at 1377 6th St. or at Coachella City Hall during normal business hours.

People from across the desert showed up with goods to share.

“We drove from Desert Hot Springs to bring these clothes for these undocumented families,” said Cierra Medina, 16, of Desert Hot Springs. “We just really hope it helps.”

Hernandez said the city’s teaming up with charities to bring the busloads of undocumented families some relief.

“At the end of the day we need to ensure these kids are safe and that they get to their families and countries of origins. We need to show them some compassion,” said Hernandez.

Luis hopes his old shoes and shirts will help.

“They’re going to be happy,” said Luis Sanchez.

Cash is also accepted. You can make checks payable to the nonprofit Raices, according to Hernandez.