Community Corner

Community Rallies to Help Kids Whose Mom Died in Childbirth

Donations can be brought to the Riverhead Country Day School.

After news broke that the family of a were struggling to raise funds to send her body home to Mexico, readers opened their hearts, asking how they could help. Many offered donations of baby clothes and toys for the small children and newborn she left behind.

Raquel Reyes-Marin, 27, died on April 7 after giving birth to her third child, leaving behind the father of her three children, Cristobal Albidiz, 28, and her babies, Jaqueline, 6, Joshua, 3, and infant Jonathon.

Her soon after.

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After reading her heartbreaking story, readers contacted Riverhead Patch, asking how they could help. And now, Cheryl Taorimina, director of the , located at 165 Columbus Avenue, Stotsky Park, Riverhead, New York 11901, has offered to set up a collection bin for residents who would like to donate baby clothes and supplies, toys, or funds for the family.

"The Riverhead Country Day School is about reaching out to the community," Taorimina said. Similar outreach efforts in the past have helped the families of Caroline Serva, one of the three triplets born prematurely in 2010 who is currently at Blythedale Children's Hospital after suffering brain damage after birth, and , the teen  badly burned in a gel candle accident. This past Valentine's Day, Taorimina said a fundraising effort at the day care center brought in approximately $500 to help both families.

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Children, said Taorimina, need to be taught about compassion and giving back at an early age. "It starts here," she said.

The Riverhead County Day School is open from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. to accept donations for the family of Raquel Reyes-Marin. For more information, call 631-727-3737 or email Lisa.Finn@patch.com.


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