Ahead of Thanksgiving, SIU members and officials, along with representatives from other local unions ensured that students from Julian Marrero Special Education School in Corozal, Puerto Rico, would close out their school year with a little extra holiday cheer. Representatives from the Federation of Workers of Puerto Rico (FTPR), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (AMPR) joined the SIU – united under the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Puerto Rico chapter – to distribute books and toys collected at the SIU’s San Juan hiring hall. Numerous rank-and-file Seafarers donated to the cause.
Some 125 children, ranging from prekindergarten to eighth grade, received toys and books from the volunteers. Each student received more than one toy and a book. Upwards of 300 toys and 150 books were shared with the students who attended the toy drive.
The unions focused their philanthropic outreach efforts on this school because it serves an under-resourced population of students with special educational needs.
The toy drive, which lasted about six hours, coincided with the end of the school term/semester. It was the inaugural and first major event for this newly formed LCLAA chapter.

“I’m planning to do one every Christmas from now on,” said SIU Assistant Vice President and LCLAA-Puerto Rico Chapter President Amancio Crespo.
In the future, LCLAA-PR is interested in potentially expanding their philanthropic outreach to include students from other schools, foster children, and elderly people living in facilities who may not receive many visitors.
“I want people to know us as a helping hand. [This toy drive was] comprised of all the unions in the area, with the SIU at the helm. I want people to see [our unions] as people who give back to the community, so that’s what we’re doing,” said Crespo. “We thought that we could bring some joy and happiness to these kids and their parents, and at the same time, let them know this is what unions do. We provide for the working class. We provide for the families.”
Participating LCLAA-PR members collected toys, transported them to the school, and helped the students select their gifts and books. Additionally, volunteers distributed snacks to the students.
Three of the participating volunteers were teachers and AFT union members employed with Julian Marrero who, because of their prior knowledge of the students, helped distribute toys and books to students in accordance with their appropriate age/grade level.
John Navas, who is both a teacher employed with the teacher’s union AMPR, and the vice president of the LCLAA-PR chapter, also participated in the philanthropic event. During the toy drive, he talked to students and told them about the purpose of the event while he gave them their books.
“My experience volunteering at Julian Marrero was awesome,” he said. “This toy drive was put together to help special-ed students and it was emotional getting to see the reactions on their faces when they received the toys. They came up to us group by group and the groups were no bigger than 12 students each. I got to see the surprised and grateful students accept their gifts, smiling because they were so happy.”
“This was such a rewarding activity,” he added. “The effort and time spent planning the activity was worthwhile. My favorite part was seeing the students’ expressions when they entered the classroom. I wish I had the messages that the teachers received from the students and their families to share with you. I know that the students, parents, teachers and administrators were very grateful and that our work had a positive impact on the whole community.”
Crespo agreed, saying, “Things that we take for granted, that we don’t even think about, they mean so much to these kids and their parents.”
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