SCVi students ready for Puerto Rico aid trip
Following the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s landfall on the island of Puerto Rico, iLEAD students in the Santa Clarita Valley are preparing for their second humanitarian aid trip in April and are in need of donations.
The charitable program began last spring when students from Santa Clarita Valley International School, iLEAD’s founding school, traveled to Puerto Rico as part of the inaugural Backpacks Full of Hope service learning trip.
During the trip, students spent a week replanting forests, building sustainable housing and distributing the thousands of dollars in donated supplies they had collected from their families, friends and community at home in the SCV.
Last year’s student participants raised more than $20,000 for Puerto Rican aid efforts, and this year’s crop of attendees hope to raise $30,000, according to Matt Watson, director of maker outreach for iLEAD Schools Development. This year, the group hopes to raise even more as 16 students are slated to return to the island, which is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Maria, for a second aid trip in April 2019.
The program is coordinated by Cultural Bridges, the international learning division of iLEAD Schools, which organizes service learning trips and other global initiatives for students.
“On the anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s devastating landfall on Puerto Rico, we at iLEAD remain conscious of our duty to reach out and give back wherever we can,” Watson said. “We are so looking forward to returning to Puerto Rico on our second Backpacks Full of Hope trip, and are grateful for the support of our incredible community as we prepare to return to the island to continue our work.”
To support the students’ fundraising efforts, visit culturalbridges.global/ puerto-rico/donate/