Planting SEEDS Today for a Garden Tomorrow

The COVID19 pandemic has allowed for all our Friends of Puerto Rico to come together and support Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable. When we surveyed our SEEDS students we found that 20% of them had extreme hardships when it comes to meals. Thanks to your donations we distributed $3,000 in food and gardening kits for the families of our SEEDS program in our five communities in Puerto Rico.

“GIVE A MAN A FISH AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH A MAN TO FISH AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A LIFETIME”. - CHINESE PROVERB

We know that our most important investment is in our youth and now more than ever, we must prepare them for the future. By providing gardening kits with vegetable seeds we are teaching our youth to grow their food and secure their future. 

We distributed 25 gardening kits with seeds for vegetables and a guide on how to create your own garden at home to our students and their families.

The communities impacted were: Toa Baja, Guaynabo, Aibonito, Barranquitas, and Vieques. Twenty percent of the students from our SEEDS program shared they had hardships with meals and thanks to your support we were able to provide them with meal vouchers. You can still donate and support our youth and their families.

70% OF CHILDREN IN PUERTO RICO LIVE IN POVERTY.

According to the Puerto Rico Youth Institute, over 70% of children in Puerto Rico live in poverty and qualify for a free breakfast and lunch. The pandemic has impacted these families even harder, expanding economic hardship, and affecting physical and mental health.

Together we can keep building the future and supporting our young leaders. Today, they will plant seeds and have a garden tomorrow. We invite you to share this blog with someone that you know believes in the power of our youth.

-Marie Rodriguez, SEEDS Program Coordinator