SAN JUAN, PR \u2013 Last September, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. As cleanup and reconstruction continue, members of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico are still actively helping their communities, but they face challenges when it comes to resources. \u201cThey have the power to change our society. We only have to fight for them, for their voices,\u201d says Yaritza Cotto, Director, Boys & Girls Club of Luis Llorens Torres Public Housing.<\/p>\n

On May 15, Beet.TV went to San Juan to interview Boys & Girls Clubs leaders and members for a status report on the island\u2019s post-hurricane progress. It was made possible by a grant from interactive advertising pioneer true[X]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As it has since the natural disaster, the advertising and media community will coalesce once again to assist the organization in a fund-raiser<\/a> that will take place during the Beet.TV Retreat in the City on June 6. It\u2019s organized under the auspices of Stand With Puerto Rico<\/a>. Olga Ramos, President of Boys & Girls Clubs<\/a> of Puerto Rico, will be one of the featured guests at the Retreat.<\/p>\n

The San Juan interviews begin with Beraliz Germocen explaining how she and other young people have responded to \u201ca state of chaos and downfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Germocen, \u201cWe cleared our streets, we got out the garbage, we aided our sick children, we gave food to each other. We know we have this potential and this spirit in us to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

As efforts progress, however, Germocen explains that it\u2019s not easy to keep everyone motivated toward the common goal of complete recovery. This poses challenges. \u201cAs a youth, I find in myself, how can I reach or approach a fellow youth or adults, elderly and everyone in my community to take the next step?\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Cotto of Germocen, \u201cShe\u2019s a powerful young woman and she\u2019s an example of the courage of our teens, of our young, of our kids in our community. They want to do something different. They only need the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Puerto Ricans in general are known for being resilient, \u201cWhen you look at young people I have to say it\u2019s resiliency at its best,\u201d says Ramos<\/a>, an attorney and longtime Walmart executive who managed all the Sam\u2019s Clubs on Puerto Rico before assuming her present role. \u201cThey\u2019re looking for new things to do. They\u2019re looking for avenues to get their success. They\u2019re looking for avenues for growth. I think that what this situation has brought to the table and has shown them is that we can come out stronger from this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another club member, Bryan Colon, tells Beet.TV that the eight months since Hurricane Maria have been \u201cmind blowing.\u201d And while it\u2019s hard for him to envision himself in a few years not being a part of the Boys & Girls Clubs, \u201cThey will always be with me in my knowledge, in the way I am, so it\u2019s not like I\u2019m going to lose them forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I become rich, you never know, I can make investments like a lot of people are doing. Helping them in the same way they helped me, and help them help some other people. That\u2019s a lot of helps.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN JUAN, PR \u2013 Last September, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. As cleanup and reconstruction continue, members of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico are still actively helping their communities, but they face challenges when it comes to resources. \u201cThey have the power to change our society. We only have to fight for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":52631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[]},"categories":[1],"tags":[5143,6858,6883,7265,7269],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.beet.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}