By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews
FRISCO, Texas — Days after the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela in a century, North Texas’s Venezuelan community gathered in Frisco for a night of prayer and relief, turning grief into action thousands of miles from home.
Alma Hernandez Juarez, an educator and founder of the group Hispanohablantes, pulled it together in days as families scrambled to reach relatives and pack donations.
“Moments like these call for immediate compassion and unity,” Hernandez Juarez said.
Twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck northern Venezuela on June 24, killing at least 1,450 people, displacing more than 12,000 and damaging or destroying 774 buildings, including hospitals. The disaster has sparked criticism of the government’s response, though the rescue of a father and son four days later offered a rare bright spot amid the devastation.
Close to home
For many who attended, the tragedy was deeply personal.
Hernandez Juarez said the goal of the gathering was simple: to remind Venezuelan families that “they are not alone—that their community sees them, loves them, and is standing beside them.”
Through her work with Venezuelan families across North Texas, she said she has watched many spend days desperately trying to reach loved ones while also searching for ways to help from afar.
Several families at the event have relatives living in the affected areas, Hernandez Juarez said. Out of respect for their privacy, she said she would rather let them decide whether to share their own stories publicly.
More than a prayer service
The evening leaned as much on presence as on supplies. For about an hour, families prayed, reflected and sang, many bringing photos of loved ones and laying white roses beside a cross as a sign of hope. They prayed for the dead, for those still waiting on word of missing relatives, for first responders and for everyone caught in the disaster.
Hernandez Juarez described the mood as emotional but hopeful, full of tears, hugs and quiet. People from many backgrounds turned out to stand with their Venezuelan neighbors, she said — a reminder that “compassion has no borders.”
From prayer to action
Organizers also collected emergency supplies. Community members brought hygiene products, diapers, baby formula, adult care items, first-aid kits and nonperishable food.
The needs remain urgent, Hernandez Juarez said, especially medical supplies, baby formula, diapers, blankets, first-aid kits and cleaning supplies. Aid groups inside Venezuela report the same. Project HOPE, which has worked in the country for years, found in a recent survey that 71% of the health centers it assessed need medications such as antibiotics, respiratory drugs and IV fluids.
Andrea Ng of An Atlas Transport LLC is coordinating collection and shipping locally, working with community partners to move donations through established relief channels. Hispanohablantes itself isn’t a humanitarian organization, Hernandez Juarez noted — it works as a bridge, connecting volunteers, drop-off sites and vetted groups.
That careful coordination matters. The U.S. State Department advises that unsolicited shipments can overwhelm relief efforts unless requested by organizations already operating on the ground. Hernandez said organizers adjusted their collection accordingly, asking donors to prioritize medications, first-aid supplies and pet food after learning clothing donations were already abundant.
What the night meant
Watching neighbors hold each other, cry and pray reminded Hernandez Juarez why community matters. Leaders, organizations, volunteers and residents all turned out for one reason, she said: to remind Venezuelan families they’re loved.
The Frisco effort is one piece of a far larger response. The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration estimates as many as 6.8 million people could be affected by the quakes, and a U.N. humanitarian spokesperson said the relief effort is moving “very fast and at scale,” calling it “a very human impulse, to help.”
How to help
Donations and volunteers are still welcome at designated collection sites. Hispanohablantes has also built a bilingual resource hub, Nuestra Comunidad Está con Venezuela, listing drop-off locations, upcoming events and trusted relief organizations. The group is clear that it doesn’t collect or manage money, instead pointing donors to vetted groups like World Central Kitchen, Direct Relief, UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for those who want to give financially.
For Hernandez Juarez, one moment outlasts all the logistics — when everyone joined hands to pray.
“I looked around and saw children, parents, students, community leaders, volunteers, and neighbors standing together,” she said. “I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn’t. Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer someone is simply to stand beside them and let them know they are not alone.”