MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Tuscan School Student Council and the Tuscan School community ran a “Pennies for Puerto Rico” fundraiser to help with the UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program for Puerto Rico. This successful fundraiser raised $2,113.01 for UNIDOS. The Student Council was able to present a check to UNIDOS on June 5.
This effort was the idea of fourth-grader James Maloof, who, after viewing devastating images of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, wanted to do something to help the island. He worked with the Student Council of Tuscan School to raise more than $2,000 to donate to UNIDOS. The success of the fundraiser is due to the efforts of Tuscan School students, families, faculty and the community at large. Student Council faculty advisers Ana Reyes and Kathy Lamkin worked with students to collect funds for this project and educate them about the challenges Puerto Rico faces.
The Student Council at Tuscan School invited the Hispanic Federation-UNIDOS to come speak to students in grades three through five; two representatives of the Hispanic Federation-UNIDOS came to Tuscan School on June 5 and answered many questions students had related to the devastation in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria. In response to this immense devastation, the Hispanic Federation convened government, community and philanthropic institutions and leaders to create the UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program.
The goal of the UNIDOS Program is clear: to serve the immediate and long-term needs of families and communities in Puerto Rico. To do so, the federation has taken unprecedented action, helping to coordinate hundreds of donation drives in the U.S. mainland, distributing millions of pounds of food, water and essentials to those most affected by the storm, delivering emergency relief aid to the 78 hard-hit municipalities, and seeding $20 million to support emergency relief and recovery projects throughout Puerto Rico.
Photos Courtesy of SOMSD
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