Local women wrap-up typhoon donation pick-ups
UPDATE: The Desert Humblebees in Cathedral City will no longer be “picking up” or accepting donations for their Philippines donation drive, due to the incredible amount of calls and difficulty to pay for the gas to get to every donor across the desert.
The Humblebees will deliver the donations they’ve collected to board a Long Beach cargo ship on Sunday, Nov. 24.
The Humblebees thank the community for their support and hope to provide clothing and warmth to the thousands of people affected by the typhoon.
ORIGINAL STORY: Sifting through plastic bags of donated goods, six best friends in Cathedral City are teaming up to help those whose livelihoods were swept away by Typhoon Haiyan.
“It’s sad knowing one day you can have your home, the next day everything is gone,” said Janette Orozco, of Cathedral City.
They call themselves the “Desert Humblebees” and they’re collecting clothes, shoes and blankets for men, women, infants and children. The group decided it wanted to do more to help locals help the Philippines.
“Let’s make it convenient for people that don’t have the time to drop it off at my house or their house, and we’ll just pick it up,” said Racquel Ruiz, of Cathedral City.
Donating is as easy as packing up any new or used items of yours in bags or boxes and simply placing them on your driveway for pickup. All the Desert Humblebees need is your name, number and address and they will designate a time to come to you.
The drive is now picking up speed after posting a flier around town and blasting it over social media.
“We initially thought it was going to be just us and our families,” said Ruiz. “Then we put it on Instagram and instantly got hits. People said, ‘I have boxes. I’ll send you my address.'”
The women will then deliver the items to Long Beach. The items will board a cargo ship headed straight to the Philippines.
“I love the feeling that people are coming together around the whole Coachella Valley,” said Orozco. “People that I don’t even know are reaching out to me through text messages and email. It feels great that we get to help out a foreign country.”
You can also make monetary or gas card donations to the Desert Humblebees to assist the group with their pickups and the final delivery of the items.
Email deserthumblebees@gmail.com
