Contributed by Mónica Rivera-Rosado

We are a group of NYU Environmental Conservation Education Students and Alumni who are spearheading a relief effort to Puerto Rico along with support from NYU’s Department of Teaching and Learning faculty and staff. We are launching this effort to help alleviate the crisis in some of Puerto Rico’s most remote and hard-hit communities, while promoting sustainability and building resilience.

The aftermath of Hurricane María in Puerto Rico has resulted in loss of power to the entire island, leaving 3.4 million U.S. citizens in the dark, without electric power or drinking water and no effective means of communication. As environmental educators, we recognize the importance of fostering human health, environmental protection, and resiliency. Our relief effort will focus on providing high-need communities with solar charging devices and water purification kits.

You can support our effort by purchasing any of the items on our Amazon registry. We are working with the following local community organizations identified by our Puerto Rican student body to insure these relief items are distributed in the targeted areas in an equitable manner.

• Casa Pueblo (Adjuntas) – Adjuntas and surrounding municipalities
• Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña (San Juan) – Barrio Las Monjas, Barrio Israel-Bitumul, Barrio Obrero, Barrio Cantera, Barrio Buena Vista, Parada 27
• Club Cívico Ambiental de Palos Blancos (Corozal) – Barrio Palos Blancos

By clicking on the link and buying from the product selection in the registry, you will help us reach our goal of providing urgently needed solar power and clean drinking water to these communities. The items will be shipped to NYU, where we will consolidate them into boxes to be shipped to Puerto Rico.

Relief effort committee members:

Mónica Rivera-Rosado (MA’17), Geovani Caldero (MA’17). Our partners at NYU include the Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education, the Environmental Conservation Education Master’s Program, and the Department of Teaching and Learning.

We hope you will support our effort. To join the relief committee or for more information, contact Mónica at mrr501@nyu.edu.