Each year we are faced with so many challenges, some of which are part of routine activity, and others that are so extraordinary, such as the floods in February 2022, that we must persevere through and overcome them consistently In reality, our job is to achieve a broad and inclusive vision of a better Puerto Rico, which is earned daily with sweat, dedication, and sacrifice Caras had an important year in 2021-2022; there were many lessons learned, challenges faced, and significant accomplishments, as well as far more than it is possible to summarize in a report. Our achievements in 2021-2022 have once again demonstrated that we are capable of bettering ourselves and overcoming the challenges that surround us if we want to create a more peaceful, just, and sustainable society based on love and respect for all of our neighbors and Mother Earth
Michael Fernández Frey Founder and Executive Director
Caras con Causa promotes community development to eradicate poverty through education, the environment and economic development together with the communities of Cataño and Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Mission
Promote community development through education, the environment and the local economy together with the communities of Cataño and Guaynabo. A just and sustainable Puerto Rico where we reach our maximum potential.
Vision
The Ecology Program contributes to sustainable local development by conserving the natural resources of the area. Our efforts of reforestation, environmental education, and community science programs strengthen ecological services and counteract climate change, thus improving the quality of life of this and future generations.
LabCom's purpose is to advance local development through the conservation of the Ciénaga Las Cucharillas Nature Reserve (RNCC), achieved by providing unique educational experiences for public school students from the area, and empowering communities that have fought for decades to improve environmental quality. Since its beginning in August 2018, in alliance with El Corredor del Yaguazo, its doors have been open to neighboring communities, engaging local public school teachers and students in practical and innovative educational experiences, with an emphasis on citizen science and eSTEM learning.
At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, in person activities with schools began again. We successfully brought back field experiences to the Nature Reserve for all participating school groups.
We implemented a new initiative, installing four weather stations in the public schools that participate in the program. Through this new project, teachers and students will be able to apply knowledge shared in class while collecting data that feed longitudinal studies that allow us to understand the climate's behavior in their communities.
LabCom carries out four longitudinal research programs in the Cucharillas Nature Reserve and its neighboring communities.
L A B C O M
Water Quality Monitoring Program
Small Plastics Monitoring Program
LabCom's collaboration in teaching my students was excellent. I love that my students have the opportunity to explore various topics and learn to take responsibility for the human and natural resources in their community.”
Participating Teacher
The sponsors of the Big Ideas Challenge visited our facilities: We thank Fundación Banco Popular for accompanying us on this day and exploring with us the facilities of the Community Laboratory they helped create through the competition we won. They were thus witnesses of the achievements that they have helped us achieve in our communities and schools thanks to their contribution together with the Hispanic Federation.
L A B C O M
4 Participating Schools
15 Participating Teachers
518 Students
179 Activities
621 Volunteering Hours 9 ANNUAL REPORT | CARAS CON CAUSA
100% Teacher's Satisfaction
Urban Roots is an urban reforestation program that offers educational and participatory tree and garden planting activities with community members, students from schools in the Cataño and North Guaynabo area, and volunteers. It consists of restoring the natural environment in schools, communities, and public housing projects. Endemic and native plants of Puerto Rico are planted to promote native species, beautify communities, attract wildlife, and restore ecosystem services to the area.
This year three nurseries were built with students in the public schools Rafael Cordero, Isaac del Rosario and, in the Center for Civic and Cultural Empowerment, providing a space for students to be in constant contact with nature and turning their school campus into an extension of the Ciénaga Las Cucharillas Nature Reserve. The students were part of the construction, planting, and maintenance of their nurseries and pollinating gardens, learning in the process about the importance of the environment and how to preserve it for their communities.
The plants propagated in the nurseries are used for reforestation purposes in communities, schools, and residences, with the support of students and residents. Additionally, the nursery is used as an innovative didactic learning resource incorporated into the schools' curriculum. This is so that students can have experiences using a natural laboratory while gaining value and awareness of environmental conservation.
Five micro-forests were created, continuing the process of creating green spaces in highly marginalized urban communities and schools for public use by all, while working to mitigate the effects of climate change. The micro-forests are located in the communities of Vietnam, Puente Blanco, Sabana and the Rafael Cordero Elementary School.
The reforestation of the Ciénaga las Cucharillas Natural Reserve continued with 108 trees planted by community members and our partners, El Corredor del Yaguazo. Through these efforts, the Natural Reserve continues to be rehabilitated, which was deforested by unsustainable urban expansion over 30 years ago, and devastated in recent years by Hurricane María.
Total plants planted: 1,010
Total reforested area: 3,547.75 m2
participating schools: 3
school nurseries built: 4
Community and school micro-forests created: 5
Activities carried out: 165
Participating groups: 26
Participating students: 502
Participating teachers: 19
Total contact hours participation: 1,164.5
Total voluntary participation: 729
Total volunteer contact hours: 1,619.25
85.7% satisfacción de los participantes
It is so very nice to create something and then see how it grows and comes to life."
Participating Student
Our education programs for children, youth, and adults promote their comprehensive development and their leadership. We seek to support individuals to reach their maximum potential through excellent education and enriching experiences. This allows the development of an integral being with a conscience and collective action to improve their families' and communities' quality of life in harmony with the environment.
The Estudia y Crece programs are afterschool centers that impact lowincome students in grades K-6, Monday through Friday. Our programming supports comprehensive development through tutoring, extracurriculars, sports, community service activities, and emotional health programs that foster self-esteem, resilience, and collective consciousness.
During this school year, we were able to return to in-person tutoring services and integration activities. Students had the opportunity to carry out planting activities with the Raices Urbanas team, beautify their communities, and work on improving their academic outcomes. In addition, we established the summer camp in both centers, providing a space for children to enjoy and play while out of school.
In 2021, our initial Vietnam Estudia center celebrated ten years as a space where children from communities can learn, play, grow and discover their full potential. The Puente Blanco Educa Center, which over the years has run with the participation of the youth group from the Puente Blanco community as volunteers, began to be directed by one of its youth members, completing the circle where students who have grown up with the project now lead its continuation. We continue to empower our next generation with leadership opportunities.
A new reading and writing reinforcement project for students; uses their strengths to improve their needs. We guide the student through their learning so they can reach the appropriate reading level according to their academic grade.
The project identifies the students who have the greatest lag in reading and writing. This is why when planning we always put ourselves in the position of the student to do activities that promote reading and writing through play.
We impacted 13 srudents on a recurring basis, for a total of 628 contact hours.
The Rosalina Caraballo Gonzalez Charter School entered its third year, promoting the human development of students and their families through a comprehensive offer of excellence, centered on a framework of sustainable development. Its 6th to 12th grade curriculum integrates eSTEAM methodologies in which the community/neighborhood and natural environment become an open and interactive classroom to learn and collaborate preparing to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
267
73% 80%
Students averaged A, B, and C in Spanish class
Students averaged A, B, and C in Math class
79%
Students averaged A, B, and C in English class
This year our students stood out in the Spanish Oratory League, being the only public school to participate and distinguished with several awards among the largest: 3rd place overall and 1st place in the Theater category.
Caras’ robotics league strengthens and diversifies academic experiences for at risk public school students. Their participation teaches them how to work together to overcome challenges utilizing programming, math, and engineering. We participate in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge program in the 9 to 14 years old category. It promotes three main areas: Robot Project (programming), Innovative Project (research) and Core Values (implementing values throughout the process). This year, the League’s theme challenge was “#firstforward transportation.”
R O B O T I C S
1. Rookie team with the most points
Isaac del Rosario
Onofre Carballeira
Rosalina Caraballo González
All Obstacles
Rosalina Caraballo González
Team with greater enthusiasm, passion and excellent participation
Vietnam Estudia Mercedes García de Colorado
Team with the most leadership metrics
30 students
6 robotic teams
4 participating schools
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Core Values Award Rising Star Award Team Warrior Award, OvercomingOur community organization grassroots efforts are based on a model of participation, empowerment and self-management. We encourage community participation with an educational, environmental and economic perspective.
We continued our Home Meal Delivery project in the communities of Vietnam and Puente Blanco, delivering daily hot meals directly to the homes of elderly adults and people with functional diversity
This project began as part of the Estudia y Crece centers, providing food to the participating students. As part of the afterschool program, students participated in community service experiences bringing groceries to our elderly. It was during the beginning of the 2020 pandemic that the high number of seniors in need was observed and a simple community service act turned into new programming for the organization.
In April 2022, we began a pilot project for the distribution of drinking water integrated into the Food for Home project thanks to the collaboration of 501CTHREE and its WaterBox, delivering gallons of water weekly to the participants.
233
People impacted
10,645
Distributed hot meals
9,12O
Distributed drinking water
9,120
Plastic bottles (16oz) saved
In the month of February 2022, rains caused floods that severely affected the Juana Matos neighborhood in Cataño. Caras con Causa organized brigades where needs studies were carried out on the impacted families and hot meals and purchases of food, household goods, furniture, clothing, and other necessities were delivered. In addition, efforts were joined with other organizations and institutions to maximize assistance and eliminate duplication of efforts.
153 Impacted families
18 Refrigerators & stoves
26
108
M A R
In its third year, over 500 people participated in the March for Peace, an annual activity that brings together all sectors of Cataño and North Guaynabo, including the 7 schools in the area, communities, public housing, civic and faith-based groups, businesses, both municipalities and their dependencies. It is a proactive act to claim individual and collective peace to counter violence in communities and create a more just, sustainable and peaceful society.
The March started at the local baseball park and crossed through town to the Cataño Maritime Front. Students from several schools performed artistic presentations, denouncing the multiple expressions of violence that occur in their communities under a unified call for peace.
Encounters is a community tourism project that meets the need for volunteers through learning, service, and cultural immersion experiences. Due to pandemic restrictions, this program was adapted to a virtual format.
We received 6 in-person groups while continuing to provide virtual experiences. Within the experiences coordinated by Encuentros, the participants worked as volunteers within other Caras programs, such as Raíces Urbanas and LabCom, with the purpose of supporting their needs.
Featured projects:
Together with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UILLI), a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was drafted for the use and maintenance of the rainwater harvesting system located at the Escuela con Causa Rosalina Caraballo González.
The Deloitte corporate group worked on a project for Caras (March-May 2022) focused on communication strategies based on ecological metrics to demonstrate the impact of environmental programs.
12
experiences
167
3,825
978
participants contact hours hours of direct service
It is our commitment that each project has people committed to the realization of justice and trained to achieve the objectives set. We promote community participation and create employment opportunities for residents of our impact zone.
We promote equal employment opportunity to all people who qualify and wish to be part of our team, without distinction of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, origin or social condition, marriage, ideas or political affiliation, national origin , physical or mental impairment, veteran or disabled veteran status, or being a victim or perceived victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
28% of our employees are from the Cataño and north Guaynabo area., 75% of leadership positions are held by women. and 25% of the leadership positions are from residents of our communities.
Men
283%
Women
71.7%
Alberto Mercado, JD, Presidente
Lic. Luis Pizarro, LLM, Vice-Presidente
José H. Santiago Ortolaza, CPA, Tesorero
Sabrina Nazor, Secretaria
Lic. Mario Dávila Acevedo
Lic. Rafael Toro Arsuaga
Lizzette Quiñones Soto, MA
Arq. Monique Lugo
Mariemi Sierra Alvarez, MBA
María E. Soto Mainardi, MA
The generosity, passion and commitment of our individual donors and allies is undeniable. It is thanks to your support that Caras con Causa has managed to respond in times of precariousness and in turn support the communities with which we collaborate.
Allies:
501CTHREE
Americorps NCCC
Amizade
Comisión Especial Conjunta de Fondos Legislativos para Impacto Comunitario
Fundación Ángel Ramos
Fundación Banco Popular
Fundación Flamboyán
Fundación Fonalledas
Fundación MCS
Para la Naturaleza
Academia del Perpetuo
Socorro
Academia Maria Reina
Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola
Escuela Montesorri
Collaborators:
Protechos
El Puente ELAC
Iglesia Evangélica
Luterana del Divino
Salvador
Comunidad Organizada de Puente Blanco Inc.
Vecinos en Lucha por Vietnam, Inc.
Corredor del Yaguazo
Centro de Operaciones de Emergencias Municipales
info@causapr.org
www.causapr.org
@carasconcausa