The usually picturesque tourist destination with clear blue water and vibrantly colorful landscapes has been reduced to flooded roadways, dilapidated homes, and apocalyptic conditions since Hurricane Maria made landfall last week in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane.

Just two weeks after Hurricane Irma caused devastation in the Caribbean, Maria’s destruction has left millions of residents without power, fuel, food, or water. Governor Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico estimates that 97 percent of the island is still without power and running water.

Hurricane Maria is responsible for 16 deaths in Puerto Rico, with the survivors forced to ration what little supplies remain. FEMA has been providing some lifesaving resources to the U.S. territory, but Puerto Ricans could use any additional help they can get to rebuild. Here are ways you can help from Baltimore. 

Monetary Donations
Baltimore native and NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony has created a crowd-funding campaign to help bring relief to the devastated island. To date, it has raised more than $200,000 toward the one million dollar goal.

“Hurricane Maria has caused catastrophic damage in Puerto Rico and the residents will need our help and support to rebuild,” he wrote on the page. “Please join me in raising the necessary funds to get the much-needed supplies and assistance to the people of Puerto Rico.”

The First Lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló, has also teamed up with corporate giants like Coca Cola, Walmart, and Walgreens to help raise money for hurricane victims with United for Puerto Rico.

The Salvation Army and American Red Cross are also accepting donations to aid survivors of the disaster that swept through the Caribbean.

Get Active
Fit4Mom Baltimore City, a local group dedicated to fitness and motherhood, will be hosting “$5 Stroller Strides for Puerto Rico” on Friday, September 29. For each mom that comes to the stroller-based fitness class, the group will donate $5 to United for Puerto Rico. After the class there will be a trivia contest and with every correct answer, Fit4Mom will donate an additional $5.

“I reached out to two former clients, one with most of her family in Puerto Rico, and one who relocated there not too long ago, to get a recommendation for a local organization we could send money to,” said Rachel Wagner, owner of Fit4Mom Baltimore. “Unidos por Puerto Rico was the only one recommended, and upon researching is also the initiative that five of our former presidents are promoting via the One America Appeal, so my decision was easily made.”

Washington D.C. nonprofit Run Hope Work is sponsoring a 5K run in Washington D.C. on October 1 to benefit victims of Hurricane Maria. A donation of $25 or more will grant you entry to the race and a Puerto Rico bandana. All funds raised will be donated to the nonprofit Friends of Puerto Rico to help rebuild the island.

SalsaNow, a local dance company that provides lessons in Latin dance, will host a fundraiser dance on Friday, October 6 at Game to help victims. For $10 participants will receive admission, lessons, and dancing.

Volunteer Time
The Salvation Army welcomes volunteers to travel to Puerto Rico to assist in numerous capacities like offering food to rescue workers and survivors or providing emotional and spiritual support to victims. In August, Chas Eby, communications director for Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), told us that Marylanders should consider contacting known organizations to get involved.

“There is a website that local residents can go to, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster,” he said. “The organizations listed are reputable and will be more than happy to accept help from anywhere they can get it.”

In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma—which recently caused catastrophic flooding in Southeast Texas and the Florida Keys, respectively—the local food community has been doing its part to pitch in with various fundraisers and donation drives.

“We wanted to do whatever we could on whatever scale big or small,” says Jesse Sandlin, executive chef at The Outpost American Tavern in Federal Hill, which hosted a disaster relief brunch last weekend. “After Harvey, and with Irma coming through, it really hit me that this could be a major national disaster—potentially even bigger than Katrina because of the two hurricanes happening back to back.”

Sandlin is one of many local chefs who will be coming together at Fork & Wrench in Canton to participate in a monthly dinner series supporting the cause. At each event, new Fork & Wrench chef Corey Laub will battle it out with two other area chefs and a portion of all ticket sales will go to hurricane victims.

Columbia-born Laub—who only recently returned to the local dining scene after spending nearly a decade working in other cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C.—says that he, like Sandlin, had a willingness to help others in need.

“In this industry, we have a want to help people and make them happy however we can,” he says. “It all goes along with our hospitality drive.”

The inaugural competition on September 27 will pit Laub, Sandlin, and Chef Brian Lavin of Gnocco against each other. Each installment of the series will feature four courses (one from each of the chefs, followed by dessert), and diners will vote for their favorite dish after the final course. Proceeds will benefit the Austin Disaster Relief Network for the first dinner, and future installments will support victims in Florida.

Another unique element of the series is that each dinner will focus on a different local protein, with the first highlighting pork from Catoctin Mountain Farms in Frederick County. Although he is still perfecting his dish, Laub is eager to make use of the local hogs, as well as feature fall produce like squash and apples from area farms.

The monthly events continue with a battle showcasing beef on Wednesday, October 25, in which chef Corey will be up against chef Jason Ambrose of Salt Tavern in Upper Fells Point, and chef Andrew Weinzirl of The Brewer’s Art in Mt. Vernon. Rounding out the series will be a Thanksgiving-themed turkey competition between Laub, chef Jay Rohlfing of Cunningham’s in Towson, and chef David Thomas of Ida B’s Table—which officially opens downtown next week.

A former Top Chef contestant, Sandlin is certainly no stranger to the realm of chef competitions. But she says that, in this instance, she is most excited to be cooking amongst her peers.

“Even though it is a competition, we’re all friends,” she says. “We all want to encourage each other. We all have a lot of mutual admiration and respect for each other. When you don’t get to collaborate with other chefs on a day-to-day basis, it makes it fun.”