Nonprofit collecting cash, water donations in Bellevue for Typhoon Haiyan relief

Local nonprofit Band of Brothers Northwest will be at Bartell Drugs in Bellevue Friday to collect cash and water donations in its effort to deliver more than 100,000 bottles of drinking water to provide aid to victims of the Typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines.

Local nonprofit Band of Brothers Northwest will be at Bartell Drugs in Bellevue until 6 p.m. today collecting cash and water donations in its effort to deliver more than 100,000 bottles of drinking water to provide aid to victims of the Typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines.

The public can bring their own water or buy discounted cases at Bartell for $2.99 during the event 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. The nonprofit hopes to fill a 48-foot trailer provided by Knight Transport with bottled water. Local HomeStreet Bank has already contributed $2,500 toward the effort.

“We just saw that the water situation there was decimated with all the salt water contamination,” said Chris Black, founder for Band of Brothers Northwest.

Donations may also be made at www.bobnw.org/give with every $40 donated going toward six cases of water to be sent to the Phillipines.Online donations opened up Tuesday and reached about $1,500 by Friday morning.

“That will buy a lot of water,” Black said, “so to have this kind of head start for something like this is incredible.”

Talking Rain sent a truck out this morning with eight pallets of water to load onto the nonprofit’s truck and Cascade Water provided one pallet, which will all be sent to a distribution center for processing for aid relief to the Phillipines.

Nearly 2,400 people have been confirmed dead since the natural disaster struck six days ago, and scores more are expected to be declared killed by Typhoon Haiyan in the days to follow.

Andrew Khouw, who brought several cases of water out to the trailer Friday morning, said he’s been watching the aftermath on the news.

“I just thought it was a good way to help,” he said. “Something I could afford and something I could do. Everybody needs water.”