When disaster strikes, sometimes there isn’t much to do but to rebuild when all is said and done. However, after hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, there was so much lost and so many lives taken, and yet very little effort to support and
help to rebuild. That is why Lifetouch is having a memory mission trip in 2019 to help rebuild in Puerto Rico, and why Superintendent Dr. Mikkel Storaasli is going on the trip to help at the K-9 school of Colegio Bautista de Juncos.
Storaasli was picked for this trip based on an application he sent to Lifetouch. He is now raising money for the school and will be leaving to help from Jan 21 through 26.
“[Lifetouch] set us up with a fundraising page toward raising money for this trip. The whole trip is paid for by Lifetouch, but these people need money for things like school supplies and backpacks. All the money that’s raised for my fundraising page, 100 percent of it goes right back to the school,” Storaasli said.
This trip isn’t just a sightseeing journey or a normal traveling experience. Storaasli is doing this to help a community in need. Through hard work and dedicated supporters, he hopes to make a difference for the people in Puerto Rico.
“One of the things I love about our school district is that so many students and teachers and staff members do so much community service work and sharing work,” Storaasli said. “One of my favorite things about this district is how connected we all are to that. This is just a different arm of that; it’s a little bit farther away, but it gives me a sense of some big needs globally.”
The loss of so many people surely has left an impact on many around the globe. With so much left to build, there is a lot of work left to do there. That’s what motivates so many to donate and help, and another reason Storaasli will take this
trip.
“We have some students and some employees who know folks in Puerto Rico, and still there’s still a lot of work of work to be doing. You know, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, and we haven’t really honestly supported them as we have other cities that have been hit by hurricanes. I suspect we’ll be getting a tour of what that really looks like,” Storaasli said.
Everyone is encouraged to help by donating on Dr. Storaasli’s fundraising page at firstgiving.com. His goal is to raise $2,000, and he will be on Facebook live on Jan 24, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. to talk with people back home.