A group of volunteers is getting ready to travel from Connecticut to Puerto Rico and help after Hurricane Maria caused devastating damage in September.
At Travelers in Hartford, Delpha Blanchard said she can’t wait to get to Puerto Rico, where she is from with a group of about 35 volunteers to help rebuild a baseball diamond in Yabucoa and put in a playground.
“It’s a little thing, but to this community it’s huge,” she said. “To be without power for months, and to be without water -- drinkable water for months, it’s very difficult. It’s hard to sit here and watch it happen and not do anything. So this trip is our opportunity to do something.”
Employees in Hartford contribute to the effort and proceeds from lunch sold at the offices go to help fund the building effort.
“When we saw just how great the devastation was in Puerto Rico, we knew we wanted to do more,” said Erin Haberman, director of community relations. “So working with the mayor in Yabucoa, and our partner organization, All Hands and Hearts, a disaster relief organization, we uncovered this need in this community. There’s no place for the children to play.”
“By having the opportunity to go down there and rebuild the baseball stadium, what we’re really trying to do is give them hope,” said Renan Beltran, a Travelers employee and volunteer.
