Empower BINcA Students' Community Service in Puerto Rico

We are the Student Service Advisory at Boston International Newcomers Academy (BINcA), a school for newly arrived immigrants in the City of Boston. We plan to volunteer with ‘Ciudad Museos’ in Puerto Rico from April 16 to April 24th. The purpose of the organization is “creating a major sense of belonging by simply having the willpower and desire to reform the communities around on the Westside of the Island to promote self-love and attract visitors to improve their local commerce.” We will paint a mural and assist in renovating the inside of the Ciudad Museo building. The organization bought an old building in Anasco to have a permanent location for workshops and community events.

We decided to do an art-based service trip because all students at BINcA take art and many use it to express themselves. All of our students are current or former English Language Learners. Many are still learning English and at the beginning do not have the language skills to express themselves or communicate with students from other countries and they must use other mediums to do so.

We are a group of 10 students, a mix of 11th and 12th graders, and 3 chaperones. The money from this fundraiser will go towards our transportation, food, and other emergencies on the trip.