Neighbors rally for Venezuela after earthquakes

On Saturday, Aug. 1, Liebre Café at 4017 Seventh Ave. hosted a community fundraiser to support people affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela, with pernil sandwiches, a raffle and live music from local band Lesser Known Women.

The café donated 100% of the day’s sales to Fundación Juan Pablo Dos Santos to help children and others who lost limbs in the earthquakes by providing prosthetics and other support. The campaign had already raised more than $2,000 throughout July, then brought in more than $3,000 on the day of the fundraiser. In all, Liebre sent $5,054 to the foundation. Patricia Mejia, who co-owns Liebre Café with her brother Herman Mejia, said other supporters also made large donations directly to the foundation. People can also donate through the Help Venezuela Walk Again campaign, which supports the foundation’s prosthetics work.

For Patricia and Herman, the fundraiser was a personal effort to help people in Venezuela during a difficult time. Herman said seeing what happened in Venezuela was heartbreaking, especially knowing that many people wanted to help their families and communities but could not be there in person.

“As Venezuelans, when we saw what happened in our country, in our city, to our families and friends … we wanted to run over there and help,” Herman said. “But we’re here.”

Herman said the June 24 earthquakes affected areas including Caracas and La Guaira, where many people lost their homes and are still facing challenges. He said friends and family have described the impact of the earthquakes and how people are working to recover.

The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck June 24. The latest official toll reported by Reuters was 6,125 dead, while hospitals had treated nearly 61,000 people. A World Bank early assessment estimated $19.6 billion in direct physical damage.

“This is not a problem that you can fix with one donation. We need to keep working on this,” Herman said.

Liebre Café has built many connections within the Sunset Park community. Customers and neighbors came out to support the café and the relief effort.

Carlos, a Sunset Park resident and regular Liebre Café customer, said he attended the fundraiser to support the café and its efforts to help people affected by the earthquakes. “It’s a tragedy, and I’ve gotten to know the owners, so I wanted to support that as well,” Carlos said. He added that community efforts like the fundraiser can make an impact while supporting local businesses. “Anything that can help the global community while supporting local business is great.”

Keren, a Sunset Park resident, said she wanted to support the fundraiser because her best friend’s family was affected by the disaster. Her best friend’s mother lost her apartment entirely. Although she is not Venezuelan herself, Keren said the fundraiser showed how communities can support each other across borders.

“It’s a good reminder that we are all interconnected,” Keren said. “Just because I’m not Venezuelan, just because I don’t live in Venezuela, and just because we’re not in Venezuela right now doesn’t mean we can’t have an impact on places where people that we know are affected.”

Local band Lesser Known Women volunteered to perform at the event. Hallie, a member of the band and a Sunset Park resident, said the fundraiser gave neighbors a way to make a meaningful difference.

“When I heard about Patricia’s idea to raise money specifically for this organization that is gonna give prosthetics to kids, it seems like something very specific and concrete that we could do from here to help, you know?” Hallie said. “Especially in Sunset Park, where, like, we have so many neighbors from Venezuela. It felt important to support her and be a part of this and make a concrete impact.”

Since opening Liebre Café in 2019, Patricia and Herman have created a space that brings together the Sunset Park community, customers and local artists. Christina, another member of Lesser Known Women who regularly visits Liebre Café, said, “We know Patricia and Herman, and they’ve just been such a wonderful community resource.”

The fundraiser became more than a donation effort. It brought neighbors together in Sunset Park while creating awareness about the impact of the earthquakes and the continued need for support in Venezuela.

Patricia said the effort is not over. “We’ll be coming up with more ideas through November,” she said. “How beautiful it is to be able to help from here.”