“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
In September of 2017 Puerto Rico experienced two of the most destructive hurricanes in the island’s history, Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma. The storms left the island devastated and in dire need of support and assistance. News coverage portrayed a Puerto Rico without power, unprecedented damage, extreme flooding and human suffering.
Shortly thereafter, a group of Puerto Rican business leaders created PRxPR, a RELIEF and REBUILD FUND focused on addressing Puerto Rico’s short and long term humanitarian goals including: food, agriculture, clean water and renewable energy initiatives.
In less than three months the PRxPR Fund raised over a $1,000,000 dollars. And as a no-overhead fund, 100% of donations are invested in the island’s most critically affected communities. The fund works closely with trusted and reputable local organizations to ensure the help reaches those who need it most.
To date the fund has:
• Bought fuel for orphanages and low income senior housing
• Helped deploy solar power systems in 100 community sites
• Supplied water purification systems to sites that support children and seniors
• Provides agricultural grants to agro-ecological farmers
• Delivered food and aid including meals, clean water and basic medicine to seniors
• Provided over 14,000 hot meals in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico
While progress has been made, more help is needed and the road to recovery is long. Recent news reports indicate the latest estimate of deaths caused by last year’s devastating Hurricanes are roughly 4,600, may of them from delayed medical care. We now know that more than 250,000 homes experienced major damage, 70,000 of those were destroyed. Many residents are still without power, much of the water is undrinkable and many people are without a home.
If you would like to make a donation to the PRxPR Fund, please visit: prxpr.org.
