Morgantown, PA- When Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in November, people in Berks County felt its devastation. Naneth A. Castner, who works in Weaver’s Orchard’s bakery and is from the Philippines, was one of them, with friends and family near the path of the strongest typhoon ever to hit land.
When Castner told co-workers how the tropical cyclone had destroyed friends’ and family’s homes and livelihoods and even claimed some of their loved ones, Ed Weaver, president of Weaver’s, decided to act.
From Dec. 16 to 31, Weaver’s Orchard in Morgantown donated five percent of retail sales to the Philippines relief effort through Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization. Customers also contributed to the fundraiser individually. With the combined percentage of sales and customers’ individual donations, Weaver’s raised $3,709 to help typhoon victims.
This sum is 74 percent of the fundraiser’s $5,000 goal. Customers are invited to continue to contribute through the Weaver’s Orchard/Samaritan’s Purse fundraising page located on Weaver’s website.
In Naneth Caster’s home country, there is still work to be done. Her father lost all of his crops, her aunts and uncles lost their homes and many of her friends’ businesses were completely destroyed. Some of her friends and family weren’t able to receive initial aid since they were located in the mountainous regions just beyond the ‘ground zero’ zone. For people hit by Haiyan, relief efforts such as the Weaver’s Orchard fundraiser will help them begin the long process of rebuilding their homes and their lives.
