Coleridge Church aids Hurricane victims

WAUSA — With Hurricane Season once again upon the East Coast, Wausa’s Dr. Gilberto Collazo’s mind turns to thoughts of friends and family in his homeland of Puerto Rico.

Dr. Gilberto Collazo of the Wausa and Coleridge Medical Clinics recently received a check of $1,000 from the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Coleridge to aid his sister Aracelis and niece Arely and the elementary school they work at in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Ron Brodersen, Hartington, represented Immanuel Lutheran Church and said it was important to create this honor for Collazo for two reasons.

“One is that Puerto Rico, even though it is a part of the U.S., we feel it is our global mission to help out and so we want to honor Dr. Collazo for his years of service to Coleridge and at the same time have a collection from Coleridge and our global project for his niece in Puerto Rico,” Brodersen said.

Collazo has resided in Wausa for 26 years while working for the Wausa Medical Clinic and the Coleridge Medical Clinic specializing in family medicine.

Immanuel Lutheran decided back in December to begin a collection to honor Dr. Collazo and send this monetary aid to his niece. However, because of the limited communication abilities in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria, the collection had a slow moving start.

Brodersen said the church utilizes its endowment fund to aid local, regional and international projects.

The main goal of this donation is for Collazo’s niece and sister to use as they see fit. According to Collazo, the school needs the help.

“She said that the money will help with a lot of things,” Collazo said. “She even said the ceiling was falling. It was terrible. They had to close the school.”

Although Collazo has not been back to the island since the hurricane, he knows this donation will make an impact.

“They are very happy,” Collazo said. “I am sure they will be happier when they get the check because really they need it. Anything, they need it.”