Together, We Can Make a Difference

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a profound sense of helplessness lately as mass shootings, wildfires, and humanitarian crises have erupted all around us. My heart aches for the families that have lost loved ones, and in some cases, everything. I can’t stop thinking about the people throughout the Caribbean displaced from their homes and cut off from the world, who are unable to find clean water to drink, food to eat, or medicines to take.

I’ve taken some comfort in knowing that there are heroic individuals working day and night to help those in need, but given the magnitude of the disaster in places like Puerto Rico, much more help is needed. One of the organizations on the front lines of that relief and recovery effort is Stronger & Better Together, which was co-founded by a college friend of mine named Tanya Collazo.

Stronger & Better Together has been organizing and leading mission trips to some of the forgotten towns in Puerto Rico where the situation is dire, and the people there have no ways or means to access help. They have been collecting personal hygiene products and household items and raising money, which they’ve used to charter planes, vehicles, and secure space on ships, so they can get help straight to the people that desperately need it, in places like Aguas Buenas, Loiza, and Barceloneta. During one of their recent trips, they were able to help more than 300 people, including a newborn in need of special formula and a widowed, jobless father who needed food, diapers, and milk for his infant twins.

I'm currently en route to Puerto Rico for a nearly week-long trip to support the relief, recovery and rebuilding effort. Needless to say, there any many other ways to help the people of Puerto Rico. You can purchase products from Stronger & Better Together's Amazon Wish List, and the team will distribute them to people in need, or you can visit their GoFundMe page and make a donation, which they will use in the ways described above, as well as to award monetary grants to small businesses so they can get back up and running. If you want to learn more about Stronger & Better Together, I encourage you to visit their website, or get in touch with me directly.

Thanks for listening,

Adam