Virginia Beach, Va. - A world away felt so close, as the Filipino community of Virginia Beach mourned the thousands dead in their home land.
"It affected everybody in a deep personal way," Danielle Holbrook of Virginia Beach said. "A lot of us have family over there."
It's been nearly two weeks since one of the strongest storms in world history wiped out many communities in the Philippines.
"I grew up in the Philippines and I've been through typhoons and I've never seen anything this massive," Gay Aconpanadeo of Virginia Beach said.
People bowed their heads and said a prayer. All of them yearning to help, any way they can.
Thursday's somber ceremony at Town Center is part of a string of events to raise money for those affected by the disaster.
"It was really great to have everybody come together," Aconpanadeo said.
"They're doing whatever it takes to help heal the country," Tiffany Gonzalez of Virginia Beach said.
And that starts by coming together and working as a community to lift up a place far away, they hold near and dear.
