Puerto Rico continues to be a source of optimism and strength. While the year brought unexpected disasters to the island, these disasters also brought out the best in people, not just of Puerto Rico, but from around the world.
On January 1st, our very own Executive Director, Stephanie Bowers will be going to Puerto Rico along with Amy Belonger, a Board Member, who visited in October. As Amy, who is trained in disaster response, explained to me, there are different phases when it comes to a crisis. The first two phases, the heroic and the optimism, yield the greatest results. It is the time when the media and surrounding communities are squarely focused on the crisis. The next phase is disillusionment—when the media disappears and other nations begin to move on, but the impact of the crisis hasn’t. When Amy arrived in October, she felt she had entered during the disillusionment phase. From those that had turned to drugs and to those who were preparing to leave the island altogether—Amy and her team met so many incredible people that had started to feel abandoned.
Because of you, we are decreasing feelings of abandonment, and giving hope with each diaper kit distributed. Hope for a better tomorrow, and healing from the Hurricanes.
Now, as Stephanie and Amy prepare to return, there is a good chance that Puerto Rico will still be in the disillusionment phase. But, that’s why your support continues to be so important. By donating money, resources or time, you show Puerto Rico that in fact, surrounding nations and organizations have not forgotten about them and that we are here and with them for the long haul.
Stephanie & Amy will be checking in with our current partner agencies, and meeting with our newest partner: the National Association of Christian Churches Disaster Response. Together, we’re working to establish, launch, and operate the Puerto Rico Diaper Bank, with partner agencies in each of the 78 cities. We’ll be distributing diapers and hygiene items to those in need, for years to come. This is the largest endeavor in our history here at Jake’s Diapers, and we need your help to keep the babies of Puerto Rico clean, dry, and healthy.
Though Stephanie and Amy have the energy of 100 people, we always can use more help. The help we’ve received this far is amazing and we can’t thank you enough. Every additional donation means more diapers, more hope, more recovery.
Right now we are just $1071 away from fully funding our latest Hurricane Maria project, and with you’re help, doubled by Johnson & Johnson, we’ll fully fund this in no time! https://www.caringcrowd.org/jakes-diapers
If you have any questions or want to hear more, please don’t hesitate to contact Stephanie at [email protected]. With it being the holiday season, now is the perfect time to get involved.
Thank you!
Jonathan Virant
Project Assistant