Philly Proud: Deacon helps those in need because of COVID-19

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Philadelphia deacon has dedicated her time to helping those whose worlds have been turned upside down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Her generosity comes after her own experience with losing everything. She came to the city after Hurricane Hugo destroyed her home in Puerto Rico.

Now her charity work is making us Philly Proud.

Jessie Alejandro has quite the resume. She was ordained as a deacon a little less than a year ago, and she's soon to be the first Hispanic ordained priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

She's been helping the community for even longer.

"When I came here in 1991, it was because back in 1988-89, Hurricane Hugo passed through Puerto Rico and at that time, I lost my home there and I ended up in Philadelphia," she said.

She has organized food drives, makes time to call people individually, and has even arranged neighborhood caravans that join people together in prayer, all while donating goods to families in need.

"It touches home, and you wanna be able to serve because when I was in Puerto Rico and that hurricane hit I was with no electricity, no food, so I could understand and relate to what was happening," she said.

And her generosity isn't limited to our area.

"We have people adopting families in Guatemala and they send them $50 a month and with that you can buy groceries for 3 weeks," she said. "I just want people to know that they are loved, that there are people out there who love people and want to do the right thing."

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