IRONMAN Foundation to Provide Continued Support with Hurricane Maria Recovery Efforts at IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico
More than $50,000 raised to support local recovery efforts with two service projects scheduled for race week
TAMPA, Fla./SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (March 2, 2019) – The IRONMAN Foundation® will return to Puerto Rico for continued Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in conjunction with the IRONMAN® 70.3® Puerto Rico triathlon, which will be held on March 17, 2019. The support includes a large-scale service project in partnership with the Buena Vibra Foundation, where more than 80 athletes and volunteers will help restore a community center in Barrios Saint Just and San Antón on Monday, March 18.
“IRONMAN is about creating a sense of community, and through the support and generosity of our athletes and partners, we are honored to return to Puerto Rico to support ongoing recovery efforts,” said Sarah Hartmann, Executive Director of the IRONMAN Foundation. “It’s a privilege to support the inspiring and innovative work of our nonprofit partners. We look forward to welcoming athletes and volunteers who are traveling from around the world to ‘Race for Puerto Rico’ and participate in our hands-on community service initiatives.”
Service Projects and Grant Awards
Prior to race day on Saturday, March 16, IRONMAN Foundation athletes traveling from around the world to compete will have the opportunity to participate in a yoga workshop with local first responders and community residents as they work to combat post-traumatic stress. Held at the headquarters of Foundation for Puerto Rico, this yoga session will be hosted in partnership with the Give Back Yoga Foundation, the Holistic Life Foundation and the Clinton Foundation.
“A year and a half after the devastating hurricane season of 2017, communities in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean continue to face challenges related to post-traumatic stress and mental health support for residents and first responders,” said Bekah Curtis-Heald, Senior Manager at the Clinton Global Initiative. “This workshop that kicks off IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico weekend is an exciting wellness opportunity for the community and provides a spotlight on a health crisis that is too often overlooked.”
“The Holistic Life Foundation is excited to be a part of such an amazing collaboration with the IRONMAN Foundation, Give Back Yoga Foundation, Foundation for Puerto Rico and the Clinton Foundation to help support the people of Puerto Rico,” said Andres Gonzalez, Co-Founder and Marketing Director for the Holistic Life Foundation. “We hope to make a sustainable impact on the island by training local residents and first responders with yoga and mindfulness techniques that can be passed on to their communities.”
On Monday, March 18, athletes and volunteers will travel to Barrios Saint Just and San Antón for a day of community impact in partnership with local nonprofit partners Fundación Buena Vibra and HASER. The volunteers will work in teams, collaborating directly with community residents and leaders to transform a school that was closed because of the hurricane into a new community center, including meeting rooms and a gazebo. The experience will conclude with live music and a family-style dinner for participants and community members.
“It’s inspiring to see how the Saint Just and San Antón neighborhoods can bring together so many people and organizations in support of their vision,” said Colibrí Sanfiorenzo Barnhard, HASER’s Executive Director. “The community is remaking a closed school into the beating heart of a larger project to improve their quality of life and create the conditions they need to thrive. That much energy and determination is contagious.”
“Fundación Buena Vibra was originally created to help foster the arts and culture of Puerto Rico, and today we help bridge the gap between donors and the non-profit culture of our island,” said Emil Medina, President of Fundación Buena Vibra. “Our organization is proud to contribute to the development of Barrios San Antón and Saint Just. We hope this volunteer day is the first of many more collaborations with HASER, IRONMAN Foundation, and above all, with the residents and community leaders working to make these communities more resilient and empowered.”
Registration for the service project is available until March 16 at www.ironmanfoundation.org/puerto-rico
Grants will be awarded to the service project partner organizations: Fundación Buena Vibra, HASER and Give Back Yoga. Funding was raised by donations to the Humanitarian Relief Effort campaign, as well as the TEAM IMF and TEAM IMF | MORE IMPACT athletes participating in the event. Grant recipients will be recognized at the IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico awards ceremony on Sunday, March 17.
“Through the support and generosity of the IRONMAN community, including our athletes racing on TEAM IMF and TEAM IMF | MORE IMPACT, the IRONMAN Foundation is honored to continue to support the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico,” said Michael Lynn Sills, Community Relations Manager for the IRONMAN Foundation. “It is humbling to see the community come together with the hope of making a difference in the lives of those impacted by Hurricane Maria.”
Race Week
At the IRONMAN 70.3 Puerto Rico race expo on March 15 and 16, the IRONMAN Foundation will be collecting VISA gift cards to be provided to the adopted families in Barrio Ingenio, the location of the IRONNMAN Foundation’s 2018 service project, so they may purchase home goods, washers and dryers. Participating athletes:
- Kyrsten Sinema, U.S. Senior Senator from Arizona and chair of the Women For Tri® Advisory Committee, a program of the IRONMAN Foundation that seeks to increase female participation in the sport of triathlon.
- Sam Cardona, a New York City-based triathlete, IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador and native of Puerto Rico. He is an accomplished fitness professional, athlete and coach, an IRONMAN finisher and a former member of the elite U.S. Army Light Infantry who trained with the 10th Mountain Division.
For more information on IRONMAN and the IRONMAN Foundation, please visit www.ironman.com and www.ironmanfoundation.org. For media related inquiries, please contact press@ironman.com.
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About Fundación Buena Vibra
Fundación Buena Vibra helps local non-profits or social impact entities in Puerto Rico with the coordination of logistics and production of their events. Our organization fosters alliances with donors and local non-profits, in turn promoting the inclusion of socio-cultural elements to help empower local communities. We serve as a conduit for non-profits or local impact entities to collaborate with donors, residents and citizens to positively impact communities in Puerto Rico.
About HASER
HASER Inc is a Puerto Rican non-profit corporation that seeks to stimulate the quality and equity of life by supporting grassroots local actions in the Caribbean. HASER offers developmental, administrative and financial strategies for the creation of grassroots projects that establish social, environmental, educational and economic self-management services in their communities.
About The Give Back Yoga Foundation
The Give Back Yoga Foundation supports and funds research-based, clinically tested yoga programs for marginalized populations. We also provide supplies to help kickstart yoga programs, inspiring grassroots social change and community cooperation in under-resourced areas. Join us in sharing the transformational benefits of yoga with the world, one person at a time.
About Holistic Life Foundation
The Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through a comprehensive approach which helps children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care, HLF demonstrates deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence based programs and curriculum to improve community well-being.
About The Clinton Foundation
Building on a lifetime of public service, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation on the simple belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, everyone has a responsibility to act, and we all do better when we work together. For nearly two decades, that premise has energized the work of the Foundation in overcoming complex challenges and improving the lives of people across the United States and around the world.
As an operating foundation, we work on issues directly or with strategic partners from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. Our programs are designed to make a real difference today while serving as proven models for tomorrow. The goal of every effort is to use available resources to get better results faster – at the lowest possible cost.
We firmly believe that when diverse groups of people bring resources together in the spirit of true cooperation, transformative ideas will emerge to drive life-changing action.
Learn more at www.clintonfoundation.org, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ClintonFoundation and on Twitter @ClintonFdn.
About the IRONMAN Foundation
The IRONMAN Foundation® creates positive, tangible change in race communities by engaging athletes and volunteers to participate in programs that demonstrate service through sport and commitment to community. Since 2003, over $50,000,000 has been provided through IRONMAN charitable giveback programs including the IRONMAN Foundation to more than 8,300 local, regional, national and global nonprofit initiatives. Through these partnerships, IRONMAN and Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series athletes are powerfully linked to the community and together we leave the IRONMAN legacy behind in our race communities long after event day. For more information on IRONMAN Foundation programs, including TEAM IMF, Community Fund, Rock This Town™, Your Journey Your Cause, and Women For Tri, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.
About IRONMAN
As part of Wanda Sports Holdings, the IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, Iron Girl®, IRONKIDS®, International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon® Series, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, premier marathons including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, trail running like Ultra-Trail Australia™, and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 230 events across 53 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.
About Wanda Sports Holdings
Wanda Sports Holdings is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.