A massive relief campaign has begun to aid Honduras, and organizations in Story County are doing their part to help the struggling country.

The people of Honduras and Central America were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch.

The storm swept away towns, leveled thousands of acres of crops, destroyed bridges and contaminated water supplies.

The storm destroyed as much as 70 percent of the countries’ crops, along with most of the roads and bridges needed to carry produce from the rural mountains to central markets, according to The Associated Press.

One local organization that is helping with the relief effort is the Stonebrook Community Church, 3611 Eisenhower Ave., said Ben Lennander, sophomore in pre-business.

Lennander visited Honduras last May.

“I really saw a lot of poor areas and poor people struggling to survive,” he said. “There were kids who were eating just two or three meals a week, and this was before the hurricane.”

For Lennander, the concern is personal.

“I have friends down there, and I want to do all I can for them,” he said.

The church is very involved in the relief process because it has sister churches in Honduras, said Carrie Peterson, secretary of Stonebrook Community Church.

“We are doing this because they have absolutely nothing down there, but we as Americans have everything,” she said. “They have been ravaged by floods — it is really bad.”

The church is taking donations from the public, and they can be dropped off at the church or picked up by Lennander, who can be reached at [email protected].

“We are taking any supplies from anyone that could donate them,” Lennander said.

“We grabbed up some things this weekend and boxed them up, and the supplies filled about 20 boxes,” he said.

Lennander said the goods will be sent out through the Great Commission Ministry of Florida.

The donated supplies will then be sent to a church in Honduras, where they will be distributed to the people.

The American Red Cross also is active in the relief effort.

“We have helped countries around the world that have faced similar situations where they needed help because of a crisis,” said Story County Red Cross Emergency Service Director Ron Matthews.

“We always make available technical people, which is mainly who is being sent to Honduras. They are there to coordinate the relief effort,” he said.

Much help is needed in the region, Matthews said.

“The most important thing to be communicated is that it is absolutely amazing what the caring nature of people is doing for people all around the world,” he said.

“Now we need help for the relief effort in Honduras, and the most effective way of doing that is through monetary donations,” he said.

However, there are problems in getting supplies and help to the people of Honduras because of wiped-out bridges and bad roads, according to AP.

“Many companies and groups try to donate items and material goods for this, but there are a couple problems,” Matthews said.

“Under the current situation, their ability to receive, store and distribute goods is very hard,” he said.

“There is no structure for the ability to manage the goods that they receive,” Matthews said.

Matthews said this is why monetary donations are the best source of aid.

“We shouldn’t bring things down and later find out that they need something else — we [need to] buy the things they need,” Matthews said.

Matthews reiterated that there are many ways that people can help out.

“People can help by either donating to the local chapter in Ames or directly to the American Red Cross in Washington,” he said.

“They can also do it over the telephone through the Red Cross at 1-800-HELP-NOW or 1-800-257-7575 in Spanish,” Matthews said.