Pies, Plates & Puerto Rico

The Bonnie Brae community is committed to helping others and to teaching our guys to give back to the community in a positive and meaningful way. This past week our guys came together to help those impacted by the devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico. Under the guidance of Bonnie Brae Art Teacher, Grace LaForge and ADL Teacher, Karen Laskey, our guys made ceramic plates and homemade pies and sold them to our community, raising over $650 for the hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. These types of efforts are not the first our young men and our school have taken on – they have been giving back to worthy causes since 2010, when they made and sold hand painted tiles to benefit Smile Train. Several years ago they invited a guest artist in to help them create bowls, which they marketed as “Soup Bowls for Hunger,” raising funds for Bridges Outreach. Last year’s effort was called “Pies, Plates and Pigs” and benefitted Heifer International. Art Teacher Grace LaForge said that after studying global issues in the classroom, and seeing the devastation in Puerto Rico, our guys wanted to help. “I am always impressed with their desire to do something for somebody else. Many of these boys do not come from great means, but after seeing how poor these people in Puerto Rico were, they wanted to be able to use what they made in class to help them.” To further this year’s efforts, Ms. LaForge created a personal fundraising page for the Bonnie Brae boys, in which donations can be made on-line to directly benefit Direct Relief for Puerto Rico. Our guys are hoping to hit the $1,000 mark in fundraising. If you are inspired, please consider aiding their efforts by visiting https://www.crowdrise.com/pies-plates-and-puerto-rico . Accredited by the Joint Commission, Bonnie Brae is one of the nation’s preeminent residential treatment centers for at-risk adolescent boys who have been neglected, abused, or abandoned. We provide a safe place for boys and young men in crisis, ages 8-21, a place for them to heal, to learn and to grow. We have helped over 10,000 boys and families since our founding in 1916. Please contact us today to learn how you can make a positive difference in a young man’s life.