Members of the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus (CCCLC) joined Ecuadorian organizations and community leaders on Thursday morning to hold a press conference at City Hall announcing a fundraising event to help the victims who lost everything on April 16th after a 7.8 earthquake hit Ecuador. “When a natural disaster, such as an earthquake devastates any country, especially from where many of our constituents are from, we need to respond,” said Alderman Milly Santiago. “My own son in-law is from Ecuador and I have witnesses the stress and desperation over family members who are still unaccounted for and as an elected official representing Ecuadorian constituents, it is my moral obligation to step in and offer my help.” The CCCLC will hold a fundraising event on Sunday, May 1st from 3p.m., to 9p.m., at Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd. “During other major natural disasters in countries, such as Mexico, El Salvador or Haiti, the Latino community has always been an important part of local efforts to help those in need,” said Alderman George Cardenas and chairman of the Latino Caucus. “Ecuador can count on the support of Chicago’s elected officials, and we are letting Ecuador know that they are not alone.” According to estimates by international agencies over 500,000 Ecuadorians were directly affected by the earthquake. More than 650 people have lost their lives, another 12,000 are injured, and thousands of homes were lost.