ALL OF THEM AFFECTED BY HURRICANE MELISSA, LAUREN RIGGLE IN PARTICULAR. THIS IS MY EIGHTH TIME GOING TO JAMAICA ITSELF. AND TODD, IT’S A BLESSING, YOU KNOW, JUST TO BE ABLE TO GO AND HELP PEOPLE AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN ON SEVERAL SERVICE MISSIONS TO HARMONS, JAMAICA. IT’S COMING. AND, YOU KNOW, ONE ROOM HOUSE WITH MAYBE FIVE, SIX PEOPLE IN LIVING IN IT. WE WORK AT A MEDICAL CLINIC. WE’VE BUILT A MEDICAL CLINIC, REFURBISHED A MEDICAL CLINIC. WE GO INTO THE SCHOOLS AND WE HELP WITH TUTORING. THEY PLAN AN ANNUAL TRIP WITH THEIR ONE BY ONE GROUP AT CHARTER OAK CHURCH. THIS YEAR WE HAVE 21 GOING FROM OUR CHURCH. IT WON’T BE LIKE THE OTHERS. IT’S GOING TO BE AN UNKNOWN FOR US. IN THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE MELISSA, OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE WE’RE GOING TO GO BEYOND HARMONS, THE VILLAGE THAT WE NORMALLY WORK IN, AND START HELPING THOSE FOLKS WITH THEIR PROCESS OF CLEAN UP IN THE SCHOOLS, BUILDING THE HOUSE. WE’LL BUILD A FOUNDATION WHILE WE’RE THERE. WE’LL BE REDOING THE ROOFS AND WHATEVER ELSE WE CAN DO. BUT WHATEVER THE GROUP DOES COME ACROSS, THEY’RE BRINGING A LOT. SO WE’VE GOT PEANUT BUTTER, DRY GOODS, DRY MILK THAT THEY CAN BE REFORMULATE WHEN THEY GET DOWN THERE. WE ARE GOING WITH FOOD SUPPLIES, SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES. THEY’RE ALL GOING TO BE NEEDED REGARDLESS. AND COMING BACK AFTER ONE WEEK WITH A LITTLE THE CLOTHES THAT WE WEAR DOWN THERE THIS WEEK WILL LEAVE BEHIND THE SHOES. EVERYTHING. NOW, I MENTIONED THAT THE GROUP REFERS TO THEMSELVES AS A ONE BY ONE GROUP. THAT IS A SERVICE ORGANIZATION THAT WAS FOUNDED IN DUBOIS, PENNSYLVANIA, AND THEY’RE AT THEIR WEBSITE IS WHERE YOU CAN MAKE DONATIONS TO HELP FUTURE MISSIONS GROUP GOING TO THE CARIBBEAN TO HELP HURRICANE VICTIMS. WE’LL HAVE THE LINK AT WTAE.COM COVERING
Unity Township church group traveling to Jamaica to help Hurricane Melissa victims
Updated: 8:03 PM EDT Oct 30, 2025
Those in need in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa will soon have help on the way from Westmoreland County.A few mission groups from Western Pennsylvania go to the Caribbean, and now Charter Oak Church in Unity Township is joining the relief effort.A group from the church will leave in the early morning on Saturday. Lorren Riggle and Todd Hrtyanski are two men going on the trip. They’ve gone to the island many times.“In particular, this is my eighth time going to Jamaica itself,” said Riggle, the manager of Local Outreach Missions at Charter Oak. “We organize many trips throughout the year. We go into communities and help out however we can.”“It’s a blessing to go help people and build relationships,” said Hrtyanksi, the trip’s leader. “We’ve done this for 20-plus years. You can multiply that, and over the years, think about how much we’ve taken down there.”They normally help the people of Harmons. “We continue to go back to the same community,” Riggle said. “We want to see the evolution and growth of that community through what we’re pouring out. We’ve worked at a medical clinic, built a medical clinic, refurbished a clinic, and we’ll go into the schools and help with tutoring. It’s awe-inspiring in the sense that they’re happy with what they have.”They organize the trips through the group Won by One. It’s a mission trip organization that originated in DuBois, Pennsylvania. Twenty-one Westmoreland County residents signed up for this year’s trip.However, this trip won’t be like the others.“It’s going to be unknown for us,” Riggle said. “This trip was scheduled last November to go down.”In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, that changes the game plan of how to help those in need.“Our expectation is to go beyond Harmons and the village that we normally work in,” Riggle said. “We’ll start helping folks with their cleanup process.“ in the schools, we’ll build a house, we’ll build a foundation while we’re there,” Hrtyanksi said. “We’ll be redoing the roofs and whatever else we can do. Each day, we’ll do different serving opportunities in the community.”Regardless of what the group comes across, they’re bringing a lot with them. Over 1,000 pounds of supplies are being flown down through 21 suitcases. “We’re going with food, school, and medical supplies,” Riggle said. “They’re all going to be needed regardless. We’ve got peanut butter, dried goods, and dry milk they can reformulate when they get down there.” After one week, they’re coming back with a lot less.“The clothes that we wear down there, we’ll leave with them,” Hrtyanksi said. “This week, we’ll leave behind our shoes and everything.”If you want to donate to other Won by One groups and help future mission teams going to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, click here.
UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. —
Those in need in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa will soon have help on the way from Westmoreland County.
A few mission groups from Western Pennsylvania go to the Caribbean, and now Charter Oak Church in Unity Township is joining the relief effort.
A group from the church will leave in the early morning on Saturday. Lorren Riggle and Todd Hrtyanski are two men going on the trip. They’ve gone to the island many times.
“In particular, this is my eighth time going to Jamaica itself,” said Riggle, the manager of Local Outreach Missions at Charter Oak. “We organize many trips throughout the year. We go into communities and help out however we can.”
“It’s a blessing to go help people and build relationships,” said Hrtyanksi, the trip’s leader. “We’ve done this for 20-plus years. You can multiply that, and over the years, think about how much we’ve taken down there.”
They normally help the people of Harmons.
“We continue to go back to the same community,” Riggle said. “We want to see the evolution and growth of that community through what we’re pouring out. We’ve worked at a medical clinic, built a medical clinic, refurbished a clinic, and we’ll go into the schools and help with tutoring. It’s awe-inspiring in the sense that they’re happy with what they have.”
Hearst Owned
Charter Oak Church in Unity Township
They organize the trips through the group Won by One. It’s a mission trip organization that originated in DuBois, Pennsylvania. Twenty-one Westmoreland County residents signed up for this year’s trip.
However, this trip won’t be like the others.
“It’s going to be unknown for us,” Riggle said. “This trip was scheduled last November to go down.”
In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, that changes the game plan of how to help those in need.
“Our expectation is to go beyond Harmons and the village that we normally work in,” Riggle said. “We’ll start helping folks with their cleanup process.
“[We’ll be] in the schools, we’ll build a house, we’ll build a foundation while we’re there,” Hrtyanksi said. “We’ll be redoing the roofs and whatever else we can do. Each day, we’ll do different serving opportunities in the community.”
Regardless of what the group comes across, they’re bringing a lot with them. Over 1,000 pounds of supplies are being flown down through 21 suitcases.
“We’re going with food, school, and medical supplies,” Riggle said. “They’re all going to be needed regardless. We’ve got peanut butter, dried goods, and dry milk they can reformulate when they get down there.”
After one week, they’re coming back with a lot less.
“The clothes that we wear down there, we’ll leave with them,” Hrtyanksi said. “This week, we’ll leave behind our shoes and everything.”
If you want to donate to other Won by One groups and help future mission teams going to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, click here.