This past Friday, President Laura Lane McKinnon thanked all those members who participated in the Thanksgiving card service project with Senior Citizens, Inc. RCSE touched the lives of 228 seniors with our cards! Laura Lane also reminded everyone of the upcoming Holiday Social on Wednesday, December 8th. More details about the event will be forthcoming. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, fellow Rotarian Leslie Mattingly spoke to the club about the incredibly successful global grant project she's been a part of in Puerto Rico.
The global grant project started due to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma when it hit Puerto Rico in 2017. Since Puerto Rico imports 93% of their food, stores were running out since there wasn't enough of a supply of local food. Leslie and her husband were already involved in Para La Naturaleza (an organization in PR that protects lands of high ecological value). They put their heads together and decided that something needed to be done to restore the agriculture in Puerto Rico and that is how the global grant came to fruition. It took almost two years for approval because the grant is so large.
The grant is a farm to table project. There are 5 component to the grant: 1. Education - training citizens on how to farm and how to cook fresh produce 2. Providing access to farmland 3. Providing access to infrastructure 4. Targeted reforestation through agro-economic planting 5. Establish economy of agriculture in PR. They are in the process of applying for more money in order to continue the grant for a few more years. This grant has been so successful that it could become a model for Rotary GG Agriculture projects around the world.