Standing Strong

Greetings, I hope you are well.

I usually start these reports by telling you something in the lines of "Thank you! You and 83 donors like you raised $27,699.28, which provided 5,540 meals over the past 12 months."

While this is true, this time I would like to share something beyond the numbers, if that's ok with you.

When I joined Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico a few years ago, my fellow coworkers would not stop talking about how many, many children in our programs would go to bed without food if it were not for the snacks we were able to give them. I can't stop telling you about the change you contributed to. Beyond providing meals, you have provided comfort, health and interesting experiences to hundreds of children. A meal may look like something we just do, but seeing these children, who used to go to sleep hungry, sitting around a table sharing a meal or at the kitchen with the cook learning how to prepare healthy food, is beyond our dreams. 

By the time you receive this report, it may be a few days from November 15, the National Philanthropy Day. In gratitude for your generosity, have a great day!!!

By the time you receive the next report, the end of the year holidays may have past, so let me take this opportunity to wish you a happy and wonderful New Year. May all your wishes come true!

Thank you,

Astrid Guerra
Foundation Relations Leader
Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico

By the numbers:

71 donations

$24,129 raised

$339 average donation

4,826 meals provided 

As a new school year starts in Puerto Rico, we cannot thank you enough for your continued support of our Healthy Meals Program.

Why is your contribution so important?

Our clubs are located in many of the most vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico and 90% of our participants live on households with incomes below the federal poverty level. We know that, for too many of our children, the meal we give them while they are with us is the last one of the day. Without it, they would go to bed hungry. Education is at the core of our services at Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico, and scientific evidence shows that hungry brains show poor learning outcomes.

In their review paper Food insecurity and hunger: A review of the effects on children’s health and behavior, published in 2015, Dr. Elizabeth Ford-Jones and Janice Ke summarize many studies that show the effects of food insecurity on learning outcomes. Two different studies on iron deficiency (ID) describe how ID has been associated with difficulties in language comprehension, which makes it difficult for a child to follow instructions. A study in Canada relates food insecurity to hyperactivity and lack of attention. Often, children living in households with very low income will have easier access to processed food, which is cheaper and easier to prepare than the healthier alternatives, but is high in calories and sugar and/or fat and low in iron. One of the studies reviewed by the authors relates this to hyperkinesis, lack of attention and poor memory.

Now, thanks, to you, our kids are getting the hot nutritious meals that will get them closer to their educational goals. On behalf of all of us, our Board, Staff, Volunteers, but most of all, all the kids you have helped, receive our deepest gratitude.

We hope that you will continue to support our efforts to ensure the wellbeing of our kids, and invite you to spread the joy.