ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014\u00a0As Jamaica begins recovering from Hurricane Melissa, Central Florida\u2019s Jamaican community is mobilizing support by filling barrels and shipping containers with food, water and necessities to families back home.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Central Florida groups are collecting donations for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa
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Lara Shipping has already sent multiple containers with relief supplies
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Caribbean Sunshine Bakery gathered pallets of water, food, baby items and toiletries
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Families are also shipping barrels directly to loved ones on the island<\/p>\n
Local residents and businesses began collecting items immediately after the Category 5 storm devastated the island. Supplies, including water, diapers, canned food, toiletries, clothes and generators, are now being packed and shipped from Orlando.<\/p>\n
Inside Lara Shipping, an Orlando freight company, barrels and boxes line the warehouse floor as workers prepare multiple shipments to Jamaica.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the world has seen, Jamaica got devastated by Hurricane Melissa. There\u2019s a lot of people that have no home, no food, no clothes, nothing. So Orlando has really showed up. Kudos to Orlando,\u201d said Michelle Mohomed, owner of Lara Shipping<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mohomed says the phone hasn\u2019t stopped ringing since the storm, with donations coming from longtime customers and first-time donors.<\/p>\n \u201cJamaicans and non-Jamaicans. Thank you to everybody who\u2019s donated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n To meet demand, she has extended business hours and accepted shipments ordered online directly to the warehouse. Families shipping goods to relatives in impacted areas are encouraged to label boxes so staff can tag and route items correctly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve already taken a full container to Montego Bay on Tuesday. We did one for Kingston yesterday and another one for Kingston right after that,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n