In Collaboration With Municipalities and Community Leaders, the Bravo Family Foundation Has Been Providing Internet Access to More Than 6,685 Students in San Germán, Salinas, Arroyo, Loíza, Dorado, Adjuntas, Comerío, Villalba, Rincón, Sabana Grande, Coamo and Guayama, Among Others
San Juan, PR – The Bravo Family Foundation announced today that its Puerto Rico Digital Education Access Initiative, which provides equipment that facilitates free internet access to K-12 public school students in low-income communities, has expanded its reach to students in 20 additional municipalities islandwide.
The program started in November 2020 providing internet access equipment to students in multiple communities in the towns of San Germán, Salinas, Arroyo, Loíza, Dorado, Adjuntas, Comerío, Villalba, Rincón, Sabana Grande, Coamo and Guayama, among others, with little or no internet access.
The Puerto Rico Digital Education Access Initiative collaborates with municipalities and community leaders, which identify public school students who are still facing difficulties that hinder their ability to participate in virtual education.
We continue to promote and open doors to our youth, this time through access to technology. Working together with community leaders and municipalities, we’re amplifying our outreach through this multi-sectoral support for the well-being and development of our communities.
– Orlando Bravo, founder of Bravo Family Foundation
Bravo reported that the program will continue to advance and reach out to students in more than 20 municipalities by mid-March, including Ciales, Patillas, Jayuya, Maunabo, Peñuelas, Culebra, Vieques, Corozal, Naguabo, among others.
«Access to technological support resources in the education of our students is essential for our children and youth. In Puerto Rico, the unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 24 years is about 24%, and that is precisely the same age group with the highest school dropout rate, often caused by a lack of access to resources and opportunities. Today, access to technological support resources for education is essential for our children and youth, who represent the future of our island,» said Blanca I. Santos, executive director of the foundation.
«This initiative is very valuable to the town of Loíza,» said Loíza Mayor Julia M. Nazario.“These children that we are serving with this program, many of them in our communities had not been able to connect (to the internet) and are picking up materials at school to do their work,» she added.
Bravo Family Foundation’s Puerto Rico Digital Education Access Initiative is betting on technology as a foundation to strengthen student participation in education and their potential to improve their conditions and contribute to the economic development of Puerto Rico.
About Bravo Family Foundation
Led by a belief that young people from all socioeconomic backgrounds should have access to opportunities for personal growth and economic development, Bravo Family Foundation’s mission is to promote the basic principles of social justice in Puerto Rico. Founded by Orlando Bravo, a native of Puerto Rico, and his wife Katy, the foundation’s philanthropic efforts are focused on building a more inclusive and prosperous society and economy for Puerto Rico.