On Wednesday, Sept. 20, category four Hurricane Maria made direct landfall on Puerto Rico, destroying the entire island. Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Ricky Martin have used their celebrity status on social media platforms to help spread awareness of the destruction.

They created an organization called ‘Somos Una Voz’ (We Are One Voice) to raise money, as well as provide food, shelter, medicine, and power. The foundation hosted a benefit concert and a telethon to receive donations and gathered the attention of more A-list celebrities.

According to an article from Vox News, the storm knocked out 80 percent of the island’s power transmission lines. Since majority of Puerto Rican citizens lost power, there were only a few that enjoyed the concert that was broadcast on Univision, Telemundo, and NBC on Oct. 14.

“Artists who have ties with Puerto Rico joined in, lifted their spirits, and gave them a sense of hope that there’s a better tomorrow coming,” Science Instructional Coach Yamilet Arroyo Batiz said.

Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. faced the challenge of finding a secure and faithful foundation to donate to in order to provide aid for their family and friends. Bethenny Frankel’s organization became popular due to the fact that she charted four planes and enlisted the help of many other celebrities who own private planes to shuttle supplies to Puerto Rico. She also stayed to deliver the supplies herself.

“The problem was that the supplies were getting to the ports, but they were not distributing them, so anything that you donated was getting lost,” Batiz said.

The world was quick to move on from Maria, but these organizations have helped spread the awareness that victims of the storm still need help today. It was a historical, catastrophic event that left many Puerto Ricans devastated.

“People forget that life is so fragile and in an instant your life changes completely,” Batiz said.