Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico/Massachusetts Unido por Puerto Rico has approved more than $1 million to grassroots organizations in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico to support relief, reconstruction and relocation efforts through 2018. The grants comprise $1,005,000 in funding to 40 organizations. 27 organizations are receiving a combined $740,000, which will focus on grassroots relief and reconstruction in Puerto Rico. The remaining $265,000 will focus on 13 organizations that provide frontline support for families and individuals displaced from Puerto Rico to Massachusetts.
Morales Co-Chair of Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico, Juan Carlos said, “We are pleased to be getting more than a million dollars out to organizations that are working on the ground to help people in Puerto Rico and here in Massachusetts. This is just the first stage of a long-term effort to meet the long-term needs of those displaced from the island and of those who are working in Puerto Rico to return life there to normal.”
The largest share of the $265,000 approved in relocation-related grants is earmarked for organizations serving the influx of families from Puerto Rico in Western Massachusetts. The largest relocation grants include a $40,000 grant to Enlace de Familias in Holyoke and $35,000 to the New North Citizens’ Council in Springfield, which are working to assist the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have arrived in the Pioneer Valley over the past three months. Providence Ministries of Holyoke ($20,000), the Family Resource Center of Springfield ($15,000) and Behavioral Health Network of Holyoke ($8,000) are also receiving grants.
In Greater Boston, four organizations have received $20,000 each: The Home for Little Wanderers, Chelsea Collaborative, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción and Sociedad Latina. Other grants seek to support relocation agencies include $30,000 to the United Way of Central Massachusetts (Worcester), $25,000 to the United Way of Greater New Bedford, $7,000 to the Wayside-Framingham Family Resource Center and $5,000 to Family Services of the Merrimack Valley in Lawrence.
Fund Co-Chair, Aixa Beauchamp said, “Western Massachusetts has received the largest share of the estimated 5,000 Puerto Ricans arriving in the Commonwealth since Maria, so it’s only sensible that we should direct the largest share of support there. People from across Massachusetts have donated to support this effort, and as new families arrive, we will the support organizations who are helping them no matter where they are in the Commonwealth.”
Fundraising tops $3 million for relief, recovery, and relocation, combining small and leadership donations. More than 1,800 individuals have made credit card donations to Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico since its launch, totaling more than $300,000 in small gifts. In addition, thousands of other people have made small donations at fundraisers and other events across the state to benefit the fund.
Co-Chair of the Fund, Vanessa Calderon-Rosado said, “This docket is the result of an unmatched combination of generosity, partnerships, and weeks of diligent research to identify and connect with grassroots organizations across the island – many of whom have been doing their critical work under unimaginably difficult circumstances. These organizations are quite literally saving lives every day.”
In all, the Fund to date has received just over $3 million in grants and pledges, with more donations urged and expected in the coming months. Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico would like to recognize leadership gifts from the Walton Family Foundation, the Mass Mutual Foundation, Steward Healthcare, the Clippership Foundation, the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, and many others, for bolstering the amounts available for recovery and relocation efforts.
