$1 million committed to strengthen programs serving children and youth under 18 years of age
Version PDF of the communiqué
San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 8, 2020 |The Puerto Rico Community Foundation announced the first installment of donations from the Red Nose for Puerto Rico Fund established in 2019 by Comic Relief US. The commitment of Comic Relief US $1 million, of which $450,000 was awarded in this first round to five organizations in Puerto Rico that are committed to poverty reduction in Cabo Rojo, Mayagüez, Culebra, Las Marías, Vieques and San Juan.
“We are very excited to have the local collaboration of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, as we have done in other jurisdictions. The decision was very difficult, as there are so many organizations doing so much for our children and youth; to all of them our respect and admiration. Each of the proposals approved demonstrate a commitment to impacting poverty reduction through youth skills development, mental health and resilience building, and the promotion of food sovereignty, among other areas of interest to Comic Relief US,” said Lorelei Williams, senior vice president, Grants Program, Comic Relief US.
The $1 million commitment will be made in two installments, of which the first, after receiving advice from donors, has focused on five non-profit organizations that have innovative projects aimed at reducing poverty among children and youth in communities in Cabo Rojo, Culebra, Mayagüez, Las Marías, Vieques and San Juan. The news has come as a balm of hope for the organizations, many of which have had to find ways to continue offering virtual services and others have become totally immersed in supporting their communities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, these are: Aspira Inc. of Puerto Rico, Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, Cortes Foundation Inc., Women of the Islands, Inc.,y Plenitud Eco-Educational Initiatives, Inc..
“This news offers us a balm of hope. It is to look at possibilities and opportunities for our youth and the community of Culebra, especially in these times of such uncertainty,” shared Dulce del Río Pineda, organizational coordinator of Mujeres de Islas, Inc.
“You don't know how much this opportunity means to us, especially now; it is to receive inspiration and collaboration to continue carrying out our mission,” said Paula Paoli Garrido, Communications Coordinator and co-founder of Plenitud Iniciativas Eco-Educativas, Inc.
Similarly, Adelisa González, executive director of Fundación Casa Cortés Inc. noted that the donation has “raised our level of enthusiasm and hope to continue with the welfare of our children and youth in Puerto Rico. There is much to do and we are ready and committed to achieve it.
The funded programs within these organizations focus on: providing agricultural experiences and farm work, and contributing to food security (ASPIRA); offering trainings to work in the tourism industry (Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust); facilitating psychosocial support, using the arts, to students affected by serious or chronic stress so they feel more self-confident and connected to their peers (Cortes Foundation); prevent risky behaviors by building wooden houses that will serve as laboratories for children to experience planting, water harvesting, irrigation and renewable energy systems (Mujeres de Isla); and promote multi-component ecological agricultural education, with a focus on encouraging young people to become formalized ecological farmers (Plenitud).
“We at the Community Foundation are grateful for the trust Comic Relief US placed in us for its poverty reduction strategy. The Fund Red Nose Day for Puerto Rico gave us the opportunity to strengthen the financial and human capital of these organizations by offering them a novel opportunity to expand their extraordinary work in transforming the lives of children and youth in poverty, which is aligned with FCPR's commitment to promote social justice and equity in access to community resources,” said FCPR President Dr. Nelson I. Colón Tarrats.
Comic Relif US launched its fundraising campaign for the eradication of poverty in the United States in 2015. The campaign benefits the 50 states of the North American nation, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico. It is from the hurricanes that they decide to make a greater commitment to the communities of our island, supporting organizations that seek to reduce poverty in children and youth. As they have already done in other jurisdictions where they have sought the collaboration of community foundations such as the Chicago Community Trust and the Houston Foundation, they did the same in Puerto Rico by establishing a fund advised in the Puerto Rico Community Foundation.
#
About the Puerto Rico Community Foundation |A nonprofit entity that for 35 years has advised individuals, families, corporations and foundations on and off the island on how to channel their philanthropic concerns. The advisory seeks to ensure that donors' contributions have an impact on the self-development of Puerto Ricans. In addition, FCPR's strategic plan promotes equitable and sustainable access to clean water, renewable energy, housing, economic development and education. The FCPR is the first foundation of its kind in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, and today the only one in Puerto Rico.
Photo / Plenitude, Facebook (archive)