A church and a business in Hartford are coming together to show their support for those impacted by Hurricane Beryl.
Hurricane Beryl has been top of mind for one mother in Connecticut whose four children and three grandchildren live in Jamaica.
"It does have me worried as a parent. You know, even though they're grown. I'm worried about my grandchildren," said Jaqueline Hilton, of Windsor.
Her daughter sent her video of the hurricane, which was a Category 4 hurricane when it swept through the southern part of the island Wednesday.
"I don't know what is happening. You know, you're just sitting by the phone, just waiting to get a call to find out if all is well," said Hilton.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
She says Thursday night was the last time she spoke to her children.
"Lighting is gone, the internet is down, and water is not restored in some places yet, and you have flooding that is happening right now," said Hilton.
As she waits to hear from her loved ones, her church in Hartford is stepping in to help.
Local
"When these catastrophes happen around the world, we have to look at those that it affects. Right here in Hartford, we have a large West Indian community," said Senior Pastor Dexter Burke of Walk in the Light Church of God.
So far, his church has collected clothes, diapers, and other items, which they hope to send down to Jamaica and other Carribean Islands hit hard by Hurricane Beryl, such as St. Vincent and The Grenadines.
Burke says he has been in talks with Avelo Airlines to ship the supplies. But he isn't working alone. He's bringing people with ties to the Carribean together.
"We all from the Caribbean, we all share a common experience," said Edwin Garcia, of Bloomfield.
Garcia is a retired teacher and Hartford police officer. He has family in Puerto Rico and played a big part in sending supplies there after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Burke is also working with Angel Sierra, the owner of Hispana Vision and president of the Spanish American Merchants Assocation, who helped Puerto Rico in time of need as well.
"Anytime there is a hurricane, we help anyway possible," said Sierra.
"Helping those in need I think is a duty of humanity," said Burke.
