DENVER — With roughly 600 migrants arriving in Denver over the past several months, shelters need donations to help the new arrivals. They are looking for winter jackets, shirts, pants, new socks and underwear and shoes for both men, women and children under 10.
“People are coming to something new — not only the climate, but also the culture,” said Marielena Suarez, president of the nonprofit Papagayo, which is helping source and collect donations.
Volunteers are organizing donations and bringing them to the shelters where the migrants are staying.
The city has opened an emergency shelter. One local a church is running a shelter, and local homeless shelters are also taking in migrants.
Suarez has been volunteering in her community since she was 16 and says the increasing number of migrants arriving in Denver has caught them by surprise.
“Nobody was expecting this. But at the same time, I’m amazed by the way how our community is behaving," Suarez said. "So what are we expecting? I'm not quite sure. All I know is that as the days go by, we learn something new and we just work with it."
Papagayo volunteers are collecting donations every Tuesday and Wednesday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Iglesia Ciudad de Dios, located at 5255 West Warren Avenue in Denver.