Catriona Gray asks for donations for ‘Usman’ victims

FILE: “Wishing you all an amazing start to your new year! Let’s make this the most amazing year yet!” (Photo: @catriona_gray/Instagram)

As a representative of Albay, newly-crowned Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray from the Philippines called for the help of her followers for donations to fund the relief operations for those recently affected by Tropical Depression Usman.

As her first Instagram story of the new year, Catriona wrote that there have been 57 reported deaths from the landslides and floods caused by tropical depression Usman. The 24-year-old beauty queen then mentions “Team Albay Youth Organization,” and how “the group is accepting water, ready-to-eat food, blankets, tarpaulins, and other relief items.”

She also adds that “The Camarines Sur Chapter of the Red Cross is accepting donations in cash and in kind,” calling her fellow Filipinos to “bring or send donation to the PRC-Camarines beside ABS-CBN Panganiban Drive, Naga City.”

Catriona’s close friend shoe designer and fellow Bicolano Jojo Bragais used his following as well to help his hometown, publicly announcing the sale of his popular heels with a portion of the funds going towards the victims of the typhoon. In a Facebook post, Jojo shares that the tropical depression  “is the reason [he] wasn’t able to come home to celebrate New Year with [his] family,” stating, “So with this, I am going on sale for seven days. Starting Jan. 2 until Jan. 8, I am selling my pageant heels 6.5 inches for P5,500 provided you get two pairs. That’s like P2,750 per pair instead of the usual P3,800 per pair.”

Catriona is unable to give a helping hand to the Philippines herself, as she recently moved to New York City to fulfill her duties as the 67th Miss Universe, her press tour across the United States officially beginning on January 7. The date of her grand homecoming to the country is yet to be announced. She looked at her year in retrospect, telling her followers that “2018 has been one of the craziest, rollercoaster years of [her] life,” looking back, stating, “I can see that I’ve grown so much, as a person, in revelation and in faith. I have so much to be grateful for and in bidding farewell to 2018, my heart is full.” For the future, Catriona states, “2019 you’re bound to be one of the most unforgettable years of my life. I’m ready for you. Wishing you all an amazing start to your new year! Let’s make this the most amazing year yet!’