Mercy Corps Teams with Google.Org to Support Puerto Rico

Lin-Manuel Miranda aids cause

Portland, Ore. — Fueled by its belief that a better world is possible, the global organization Mercy Corps is joining with Google.org, the Hispanic Federation and Lin-Manuel Miranda to provide ongoing relief to the people of Puerto Rico.

Nearly nine months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the U.S. territory, thousands of Puerto Ricans remain without power or access to clean water. In an effort to assist the ongoing recovery, Google.org is launching a campaign during which it will match up to $2 million in donations made June 8-20 at g.co/supportPR.

Miranda and his family have been actively supporting Puerto Rico’s recovery and relief and will be leading other celebrities in promoting this campaign.

“I am grateful to Google.org for their commitment to helping Puerto Rico in such an impactful way,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Everyone on the island is working hard every day to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. This new campaign comes at the perfect time to harness the robust energy and enthusiasm still felt by people all over the world. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help raise awareness.”

Along with the Hispanic Federation, Mercy Corps will oversee distribution of money raised through the campaign. Mercy Corps will focus on reinvigorating small and medium-sized businesses, promoting tourism to Puerto Rico and supporting agricultural and fishery industries.

“We’ll provide cash grants, technical assistance and training to get small business owners back on their feet,” said Jeronimo Candela, Mercy Corps Puerto Rico Director. “As we do in every recovery and relief effort we undertake, we’ll be working with local partners as we believe communities are the best engines of their own change.”

Following Hurricane Maria, Mercy Corps partnered with local organizations to distribute solar lanterns, water filters and $300,000 in emergency cash so people could buy what they needed most urgently. Today, Mercy Corps is also solarizing 15 community centers and facilitating disaster-preparedness and risk-reduction training to help Puerto Ricans better prepare for future storms.

ABOUT GOOGLE.ORG

Google.org, Google's philanthropy, supports nonprofits that address humanitarian issues worldwide and apply scalable, data-driven innovation to solving the world's biggest challenges. We accelerate their progress by connecting them with a unique blend of support that includes funding, products, and technical expertise from Google volunteers. We engage with these believers-turned-doers who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a world that works for everyone — and we believe technology and innovation can move the needle in four key areas: education, economic opportunity, inclusion and crisis response.

ABOUT THE HISPANIC FEDERATION

The mission of the Hispanic Federation is to empower and advance the Hispanic community. The Hispanic Federation provides grants and services to a broad network of Latino non-profit agencies serving the most vulnerable members of the Hispanic community and advocates nationally with respect to the vital issues of education, health, immigration, economic empowerment, civic engagement and the environment.