Aventura-area residents who want to help Colombia earthquake victims can tune in to a major benefit concert Sunday evening or drop off supplies at the Sunny Isles Beach Government Center through Tuesday, Aug. 25.
The "Unidos por Los Nuestros" ("United for Our Own") concert begins at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, at Miami's Kaseya Center, featuring Marc Anthony, Chayanne, Ricardo Montaner, Feid, Olga Tañón, Luis Fonsi, Mau y Ricky, Gente de Zona, Gilberto Santa Rosa and others. The show will air live on Univision, ViX, iHeartLatino and other platforms, so neighbors can watch and donate from home.
Viewers can give by scanning on-screen QR codes, texting UNIDOS to 707070 or visiting univision.org during the broadcast. Tickets for in-person attendance are available on Ticketmaster.
Proceeds go to five nonprofits, including Doral-based Global Empowerment Mission, which deployed a team to western Colombia the same day a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck on Aug. 10. At least 265 people died and nearly 500 were reported missing as of Aug. 12, according to Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Civilian databases put the missing above 4,100.
Cash helps most.
GEM founder and president Michael Capponi said on Aug. 10 that his team planned to purchase food directly in Colombia. "We believe we can buy food in Colombia," Capponi told Local 10. "It will be a lot more efficient." His team also needs thousands of tents, sleeping bags, blankets and camping gear for people who cannot return home.
Sunny Isles Beach drop-off drive
The City of Sunny Isles Beach is collecting physical donations at the Government Center lobby, 18070 Collins Ave., through Tuesday, Aug. 25. Accepted items include new tents, tarps, new sleeping bags, blankets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, shampoo, deodorant and first-aid kits. Food, water, clothing and medication are not accepted.
Financial donations to GEM's Colombia campaign can be made at give.gem.org/campaign/735778/donate.
Concert expanded after Colombia disaster
The concert was originally organized for Venezuela after magnitude-7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes killed at least 6,300 people on June 24. Organizers renamed it from "Unidos por Venezuela" to "Unidos por Los Nuestros" after the Aug. 10 quake struck San José del Palmar in the Chocó region, extending financial and humanitarian support to victims in both countries.
Organized by Cárdenas Marketing Network, Maestro Cares Foundation, TelevisaUnivision and PIMIENTO Entertainment, the event combines a musical show, an international telethon and a global fundraising campaign. Funds will be administered by Marc Anthony's Maestro Cares Foundation and the Univision Foundation, benefiting All Hands and Hearts, CARE, Global Empowerment Mission, Techo and World Central Kitchen.
Rodner Figueroa, co-founder and vice president of the I Love Venezuela Foundation and a GEM partner, told the Sun Sentinel on Aug. 12 that the biggest challenge is sustaining public attention as tens of thousands of displaced Venezuelans still need housing, clean water and medical care more than six weeks after the June quakes.
Upcoming dates
- Sunday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m. — "Unidos por Los Nuestros" concert on Univision, ViX and iHeartLatino; text UNIDOS to 707070 or visit univision.org to donate
- Through Tuesday, Aug. 25 — Supply drop-off at Sunny Isles Beach Government Center, 18070 Collins Ave. (new tents, tarps, sleeping bags, blankets, hygiene items, first-aid kits only)
