PUERTO RICO HURRICANE RECOVERY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2019
7,430 2,942
LIVES IMPACTED VOLUNTEERS
32,593
VOLUNTEER DAYS
1,462
JOBS COMPLETED
Current Activities We are quickly approaching the two-year remembrance of Hurricane Maria this month. In Yabucoa, our team is still working with the community to reach homeowners still needing home repairs. In this past month, we have surpassed 130,000 volunteer hours on our Yabucoa program and have completed over 1,000 individual jobs. The two-year anniversary of Maria approaches, we are more engaged with the local and NGO community than ever. Entering the third year after the storm, we will be relying on the support system here and worldwide as we fill our commitment to staying in Puerto Rico until March 2020
Volunteer Voices “I absolutely loved my experience here. All Hands and Hearts base really becomes a home and family for everyone who comes. I have made incredible friends and just genuinely had a good time on the base everyday. Working with the homeowners and being able to help someone adjust back to normal life after a hurricane really impacted me as well. I really wish I was able to stay longer and I really hope I'm able to come back.” “This was an incredible experience where I learned how to not only fix roofs and perform mold sanitation, but where I was able to build relationships with people from all over the world. This experience has changed the lives of every volunteer. This is truly a special thing you have here.”
Learn about our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile On September 20th, 2017 Hurricane Maria’s 155 mph winds plowed through the island of Puerto Rico, resulting in one of the worst natural disasters in the island’s history. Hurricane Maria first made landfall over the municipality of Yabucoa, affecting the 37,000 residents who call it home. This area bore the strongest brunt of the storm, where hundreds of homes are still today in need of basic roof repairs and where we continue to focus our efforts.
Our Work Thanks to critical support from partners, like Medtronic and The Giustra Foundation, donors, local community and volunteers from around the world, we have run an impactful program since January 2018. Our work in Yabucoa includes mucking and gutting, mold sanitation, roof repair and critical home repairs. We are also focusing on community spaces in need of clean up/repair and will be alongside the community on the long road to recovery.
About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure. We have been awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator five years in a row, placing us in the top 10% of all non-profits evaluated for financial and operational efficiency. Pictured at right: (Top) Volunteers pressure wash a roof to prepare for re-sealing (Middle) Mendez field bleachers after being repaired and painted.(Bottom Left) Celebrating world Humanitarian Day on site,
Our Partners in Puerto Rico
info@allhandsandhearts.org (508) 758-8211