On a warm, muggy Monday night Dani Salazar lifted boxes and bags from cars and SUVs and carried them into the basement of the Coppin Community Center in the Washington Park neighborhood.
Vehicles pulled up by the dozens to drop off needed supplies to the free store La Tiendita. Their ultimate destination: Venezuela, where hundreds died and many more are still missing from two earthquakes that hit less than a week ago.
“I have a cousin who lived in a high rise in Caracas that completely collapsed,” 26-year-old Salazar said. “Thankfully no one in my extended family has died or been seriously hurt. I know that’s not the case for everybody.”
Salazar moved to the United States when he was 11 years old. He arrived in Chicago three years ago but still keeps in touch with family in Venezuela.
“I’ve been able to stay in communication with them through WhatsApp,” he said. “I’ve been volunteering here for a couple of years.”
La Tiendita (“Little Shop”), 5627 S. Michigan Ave, opened in 2022 as a food pantry and free store when Venezuelan migrants were sent to Chicago by the busloads from Texas.
Now it’s been turned into a drop-off point for those wanting to donate to victims of the earthquake.
Director Arcelia Guerrero stands in La Tiendita free store housed in the basement of the Coppin Community Center in Washington Park on the South Side, Monday, June 29, 2026. The store is currently collecting donations for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela.
Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times
Arcelia Guerrero is president of MESA Chicago (Mutual Aid for Immigrants), a grassroots community organization that supports recently arrived immigrant families with essential resources, groceries, and helps to run La Tiendita.”
“I’m getting a lot of text messages and email messages. I have people come and drop off items. We just spread the word a few days ago, last Thursday, so slowly, but it’s coming,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero, who is Mexican-American, said her group is looking for items such as medications, diapers, baby wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorants, and personal hygiene items, alcohol, gauze, bandages.
There’s even a need for the rescue volunteers on the ground such as gloves, face masks, safety goggles, and personal protective equipment.
“We have about 30 to 40 boxes of items. We’re hoping to fill a U-Haul and then drive it to Miami,” Guerrero said.
Other groups are also getting set to deliver donated items to Miami.
On Tuesday afternoon, volunteers with the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance were loading some 250 boxes onto a large truck in Little Village that will eventually make its way to Miami later this week.
From there, the disaster relief organization, Global Empowerment Mission, will get the items to Venezuela.
“Venezuelans know that Venezuela has been in a crisis for a long time, and this is just a catastrophe that fell upon the Venezuelan people,” said Luciano Pedota, interim executive director of the Little Village-based alliance. “Inflation has been very high. The economy in Venezuela has been in shackles. The political situation, the health system has really deteriorated. The situation in Venezuela is bad. The need is huge.”
Pedota said for those wanting to help, the best way is to donate money.
“We can collect a lot of goods here, but we still need to pay for transportation. We need to send transportation or boxes to Miami or directly to Venezuela, and so that costs money,” Pedota said.
Pedota said the alliance will continue to collect donated items as long as there is a need.
“We decided that we were going to continue to receive as long as people wanted to donate goods, until it slows down. We anticipate this is going to be an ongoing crisis for, for several months … and who knows, maybe even a year,” he said.
Like many natives of Venezuela, the 59-year-old Pedota said he had relatives, including his mother, who were affected by the quakes but not injured.
“I have relatives who thank God were in zones that were not affected nearly as much, but they still. I mean, yesterday my mom felt that there was a second kind of shake,” he said.
Pedota said he is thankful other Chicagoans, and especially other Latino groups were donating items.
“Everybody is stepping up. A lot of people are aware of the situation in Venezuela, and they know that this is compounding, exacerbating something that was already a dire situation,” Pedota said. “A lot of people are calling me, asking me how they can help. I sent them to our website.”
Michael Puente is a reporter and weekend anchor for WBEZ.