Burbank Sunrise Rotarians we’re fortunate to travel with others in District 5280 on a humanitarian trip to Puerto Rico. Our district completed a number of global grants and special projects in partnership with District 7000 in Puerto Rico. Over $230,000 was spent on 14 projects. We donated computers and training to a school to help with learning and also to teach their parents marketable skills. We provided baseball equipment to a specialized baseball community school where children use the sport to develope social skills, learn discipline, avoid gangs and drugs, and to provide structure. We provided new equipment and upgraded facilities at a homeless center where the clients are taught agricultural practices to provide for themselves, to feed other homeless or low income people, and to sell their excess inventory so that the center is self sustainable. We provided a photocopier to a center that provides a variety of services to a low income community. We rehabilitated parks, beaches, and playgrounds that had been devastated by hurricane Maria. We created an inclusive playground with adaptive recreational equipment where both physically able and challenged children could play together. We provided upgrades to center for domestic  violence victims including books and educational materials for the associated school. We expanded a recycling operation that funds treatment and therapy for recovering addicts. We provided children’s bedroom furniture to a local shelter. We provided funding that will help transform a vacant lot into a park that residents and families can enjoy. We provided for women to learn marketable skills and retrofit a storage container into a center to serve disabled children.
We also had fun with all our fellow Rotarians while enjoying this beautiful island.