Metro Atlanta businesses, organizations sending supplies to Venezuela after devastating earthquakes

In metro Atlanta, several businesses and organizations are working together to send supplies to Venezuela after back-to-back earthquakes killed more than 900 people and injured thousands more.

The Venezuelan Store in Alpharetta is one of the businesses collecting donations.

Store owner Laurinda Pestana has family in Venezuela, and so do many of their customers.

She said customers have come in asking to help in whatever way they can.

"She was crying, crying, and I said 'Your family is OK?' 'Yes, it's OK, but my Venezuelan people, my friends are not OK,''' Pestana said. "And she was saying, 'I can help, I can go with my car to collect the things to come here, whatever you call me.'"

Pestana said she has been hearing heartbreaking stories.

"People here crying, and they say, 'Oh, put something else on the TV because I cannot stop reading the news, I get stressful,'" Pestana said.

Ruben Navarro, the CEO of Neighbors Connect, a nonprofit involved in this effort, said they plan to collect supplies for the coming weeks and likely months.

"It's not about one week or two weeks, you know, thinking the long run for a couple months," Navarro said. "First, you know medical supplies, second, you know personal hygiene, and third, you know food that isn't going to expire. You know, cans, boxes."

Navarro said right now they are prioritizing medical supplies. However, they will also take other items that will go in later shipments, including clothing, food, personal hygiene items, bedding, and portable power sources.