Last July, the Journal headed to Puerto Rico to take a look at how Jewish organizations were helping residents on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
I spent time traveling the island with the nonprofit called PR4PR, which does extraordinary work with at-risk children in the area. The organization provides thousands of children a place to go after school and during the summer. Doing so gets them off the streets and away from crime. To date, more than 40,000 Puerto Rican citizens have benefitted from its programs and services.
Founded in 2004 by New York-based businessman Henry Orlinsky, the organization had bigger dreams than its budget and manpower could handle. Now, however, PR4PR can expand its offerings, thanks to a just-announced partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel.
The Agency and PR4PR are planning to build a Project TEN Center in San Juan. (Project TEN is an international development program that operates volunteer centers in developing areas throughout the world). The partnership will focus on identifying young volunteers from all sectors of Israeli society and global Jewry who will spend three months at a time in Puerto Rico, working with at-risk children. The center is expected to be open within two months.
According to a release announcing the partnership, PR4PR “will provide the local expertise in terms of identifying where Jewish Agency resources will be deployed on the island focusing on informal education and empowerment, public health and agriculture.”
Orlinsky said in the statement, “We’re thrilled to partner with The Jewish Agency’s Project TEN. Their stellar reputation for collaborating with local organizations – similar to ours – in order to address the local community’s issues is something truly needed in Puerto Rico.”
The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Chairman Isaac Herzog said, “PR4PR has done a tremendous job working with Puerto Rico’s youth to keep them off the streets and providing positive programming to help provide them with the skill sets to become contributing members of society.”
