TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Far away from home, Lucía Pérez-Alberola, an exchange student from Spain, has been welcomed by her host family and the Magic Valley.
However, as intense flooding hit her home country hard a few weeks ago, her thoughts were squarely on her home country.
“What happened is like a year’s worth of rain just went in like eight hours,” Pérez-Alberola said. “No one knew what was happening, so all the cars, they were destroyed, the streets, the houses, everything’s destroyed, and now they have to clean it.”
Pérez-Alberola’s hometown is just an hour from Valencia, one of the cities hardest hit by the flood. She wished she was in Spain, helping her family, friends and others affected by the rising waters.
Her host family gave her the idea to start a fundraiser.
The plan was to sell Mary Kay Cosmetic Products to benefit those in Valencia. Diane Hicks, a sales director with Mary Kay and a part of the host family, has done this before to help raise money for charities.
In addition, they will raise money to help benefit the Valley House.
“Part of my experience as an exchange student is like, integrating into this community, and a apart of that, I think, is helping them,” Pérez-Alberola said.
Assistant Director Kim Spiers said the less fortunate need blankets, coats, food and other cold-weather essentials.
“There’s a, I call it a hidden population, here in Twin Falls, of people living in their cars, living in their tents,” Spiers said. “Do we have those unhoused people? And so those people living in campers without power, so they need blankets for sure.”
The demand for donations of all types is high this time of year, Spiers said. The organization does not receive any government funding.
“We’re completely, 100%, community funded,” Spiers said. “So that means everything from our staff to the power bill, our water bill, to having to purchase mattresses if that’s needed to replace mattresses that get soiled here, comes directly from financial donations.”
Pérez-Alberola’s fundraiser runs from now until Christmas Day. To donate, call (208) 731-7938 or click here. All proceeds will go to Spain and the Valley House.
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