SAN JUAN, PR – They have been forgotten, the majority of Puerto Rico’s children who live under the poverty level, says Eduardo Carrera, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico in this interview with Beet.TV recorded at the Vimenti Project, the island’s first charter school, which is operated by the Club.
Carrera, who leads the 50-year-old chapter of the national organization, says that the goal of the Club is to raise the awareness of childhood poverty on the island and the mainland.
In the interview, he explains how the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico (BGCPR) is expanding its role as an after-school activity center to a place where early education and family services are being architected to lift members out of poverty.
While education in Puerto Rico has been buffeted by financial problems, an exodus to the mainland and the consequences of Hurricane Maria, there is some optimism about the future as reported in this comprehensive overview in EducationNext. It includes a detailed look at the innovation taking place at the BGCPR charter school Vimenti. Find the report here: Resilience, Hope, and the Power of the Collective: What Puerto Rico Can Teach the States about Education Reform
The Media Industry Unites in a New Initiative & Ambitious Next Step
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Beet.TV organized a group of media companies in an awareness campaign for Puerto Rico called Stand with Puerto Rico. The efforts secured inventory and funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. Founding partners were AT&T, Omnicom Media Group and Teads. As part of this initiative Beet.TV raised funds for charity at auctions held as its leadership events. Generous auction contributions have been made by AT&T, Disney, DISH, NBCU, Comcast, FreeWheel, FOX, Turner and others.
Project Debut in Cannes, PSA’s in Q4
Beet.TV is organizing a larger group of partners to expand its service to the children of Puerto Rico by securing several million dollars in media inventory for awareness and fundraising as Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) on both digital and on television. The solicitation of inventory has begun and will continue for the months ahead. The campaign will launch in Q4. It is also soliciting corporate donations made directly to the charity.
As part of the program, Beet.TV will produce a series of videos on childhood poverty taped in Puerto Rico, New York and Washington, D.C.
Industry partners will participate in various ways: They will provide media inventory, make a direct contribution to Boys & Girls Clubs of PR and partner with Beet.TV on the program execution.
The group is being lead by a steering committee including Mike Bologna, President/Addressable, Cadent and Marissa Jimenez, President, Modi Media/GroupM Worldwide.
The program will debut to the global media and advertising industry when it is presented at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June.
If your company is unable partner with us, you can make a contribution directly to the organization which is a 501(c)(3) entity.
Please join us! You can make it happen.
For more information contact andy@beet.tv
