A fundraiser was held in East Harlem Thursday to help the hurricane victims.

The event at the Julia de Burgos Art Center included music and dance performances and an art auction.

Organizers say the fundraiser is meant not only to help the victims, but the people here concerned for their loved ones.

"It's a sad time right now. There's a lot of people that don't know where their families are and they're not communicating. So we want to be there to support our people in Puerto Rico, but we also want to be able to support one another here," said Adrian Roman, co-founder of "Defend Puerto Rico."

"I'm here to support my people and to help. Especially, this particular event really resonates with me and what we need to be doing in Puerto Rico because it's targeting communities that need it the most," said Aileen Cardona, professor of Latin studies at Pace University.

The director of the center says they will be collecting food, medicine and other donations from October 6 to October 10.