Clemente Legacy Unites SUNY Canton With Puerto Rican Relief Efforts

By Francesco Palumbo

During the final weeks of September 2017, Hurricane Maria swept across Puerto Rico, devastating the entire island and altering the lives of all of its people. This has been well-documented by the media since the first ravages of the storm began. However, several months later the island still suffers from the tragic devastation.

By the time the storm was in full-effect, all 3.4 million residents of the island were left without electricity and communications to the outside world. Internationally, an outpouring of support initiated recovery efforts, and resources were soon collected.  Organizations such as UNICEF, AmeriCares, the American Red Cross, and others jumped into action. Various military units from across the world provided search teams and relief forces to distribute necessities in the days, weeks, and months that followed Maria's historic destruction. 

Unfortunately, even before the hurricane had touched down, the island of Puerto Rico had already been plagued for years by social and economic issues which were exponentially worsened once the storm touched down. In an interview from November with USA Today, Erik Olson, the Health Program Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council said, “We’re worried that in places even that have running water, whether that water is safe.” His group reported in May of 2017, "Puerto Rico’s water system had the worst record under the Safe Water Act, with 70% of the people living with water that violated standards set by U.S. law." Once Maria hit, the impaired water situation deteriorated many times over.
(Photo: US Department of Defense; Graphic: Francesco Palumbo)
Now, four months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s need for assistance is still painfully obvious. The damage is so bad the island will undoubtedly be feeling the effects of the storm for many years to come.


The Spirits of The People and The Aftermath

The Puerto Rican people will be the first to tell you they are extremely grateful for the support and aid they have received in the months since Maria. This appreciative outlook could be easily traced to a proverbial Puerto Rican adage: "Sé feliz con lo que tienes!" This translates to, "Be happy with what you've got!" 

 This mindset is certainly motivating. Unfortunately, the aid which Puerto Rico has seen, in comparison to the aid received by the United States during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, is tragically disproportionate. Harvey and Irma combined to generate over $400 million in pledges and donations to the American Red Cross.  By October 4th, Puerto Rico had received just $9 million. In statistics generated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, it was reported that corporations have donated nearly $300 million for Irma and Harvey, while $32 million had been generated for Maria. The need for more assistance is still very evident as 2018 begins. 
Photo: US Department of Defense; Graphic Design: Francesco Palumbo; Data: USA Today

For this very reason, State University of New York at Canton's head baseball coach Joseph Carbone, and former Iowa State Senator Paul Scherrman traveled to the island with Puerto Rican native Victor Rivera-Collazo at the beginning of January. Scherrman also acted as one of the "Ghost Players" in The Field of Dreams (1989). The Academy Award-nominated film's underlying theme parallels similarly to their Puerto Rican journey.  Ray Kinsella, the movie's main character, must take a leap of faith to build "The Field of Dreams."  In many ways, Carbone, Rivera-Collazo, and Scherrman took a leap of faith by traveling to the island after the storm.  The intention was to provide any assistance they could possibly offer.  When they landed in Rivera-Collazo's homeland, they immediately realized that the situation was still much worse than they could have possibly imagined. 
On their journey in January, the coaches visited and brought aid to many families.
The first was to Ángel Miranda with family, here with former Iowa State Senator Paul Scherrman.
Photos: Paul Scherrman / Victor Rivera-Collazo
In Arecibo, PR, former Major League pitcher Ángel Miranda and his family were the first people that Victor Rivera-Collazo and Paul Scherrman contacted.  Although the spirits are high, all that has been done to date is still not nearly enough. "Don't promise me anything that you can't deliver," says Miranda's childhood friend.  "All my life people have promised us solutions and have failed us. You are the first to fulfill your words." 
As was the case in one visit, one woman was brought food and supplies and immediately brought them to her neighbors who she said "had nothing." When Scherrman and Coaches Carbone and Rivera-Collazo entered her home, they discovered she had literally no supplies available for herself. This selfless approach between neighbors was witnessed time and time again by the three. 
A school now serving as a donation drive and shelter in Puerto Rico.

This was once a beachfront motel. Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.
With its wonderful tropical climate, Puerto Rico is an ideal location for the export of fruits and vegetables such as mangos, avocados, plantains, and other native yields. Since Hurricane Maria  struck, however, these crops, on which the Puerto Rican economy has relied for centuries, "...have been wiped out across the island," says Rivera-Collazo. The plentiful lands that once enabled the export of the island's agriculture are now seeking imports to replenish the loss.  

In addition to the obvious loss of some of daily life's essentials, such as power, running water and lines of communications, Hurricane Maria brought about the destruction of roads and bridges which now continues to greatly hinder the rebuilding process even further. 
"This once was a road with palm trees canopying over the top," explains Victor Rivera-Collazo. "The sky was not visible from the road." Now, the palm trees have been replaced by fallen telephone poles. 
In Puerto Rican culture, Rivera-Collazo explains, it is not uncommon for parents to own a parcel of land and to give their children a piece of that land to start their own lives. With the devastation of Hurricane Maria, many homes that were built in that manner were most-likely uninsured, rendering them completely unsalvageable. Due to the island's already extremely frail credit status, government loans for repair are virtually impossible. Even the houses that remained intact now suffer from infectious molds, which could easily spread further disease.
Homeowners do what they can to salvage their homes. The blue tarps indicate how insurance companies have "fixed" the destruction of homes. 

While baseball is certainly an afterthought right now in Puerto Rico, the damage done to this stadium in Yubacao
shows the power of the storm.  The steel beams are literally bent in half. 
A $1000 donation for a church in Puerto Rico will help feed the hungry and homeless.
Pictured here, Coach Rivera-Collazo and his father with the church's pastor. 

The Need for Cooperation

Victor Rivera-Collazo enters his ninth season serving as the SUNY Canton baseball team’s assistant coach. He was born and raised in Naguabo, PR. After playing baseball in Puerto Rico, he decided to enlist and began his service in the United States Army. His career was highly-decorated and spanned 33 years, earning him the rank of Command Sergeant Major.  According to the US Army, “There is no higher grade of rank [for enlisted soldiers], and there is no greater honor, except Sergeant Major of the Army.” In that time, he also coached the US Army’s softball team, which competes against other USA Armed Forces softball teams. Under Coach Rivera-Collazo the team won seven gold medals. 

Upon his retirement from the Army, Rivera-Collazo found a special way to continue his passion for the game of baseball. He developed a close relationship with the family of his childhood idol, Puerto Rican Hall of Fame hero, Roberto Clemente. Victor Rivera-Collazo remains close friends with Roberto Clemente's relatives, including: wife Vera, and sons Ricky, Roberto Jr., and Luis Clemente.

Mrs. Vera Clemente recalls, “The way he died was the way he lived — helping people!” Clemente’s plane crashed on its way to bring aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. “He always was helping people. He was about people.”
Members of the Clemente Family were a part of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game Ceremonies in 2017.
(From L - R: Mrs. Vera Clemente, Roberto Jr., Luis, and Ricky)
In addition to the barriers he broke, and his extraordinary accomplishments on the field, Roberto Clemente's legacy will always be accompanied by his moral responsibility and efforts to serve others.  His sons keep their father's humanitarian spirit alive through many ongoing projects, including The Clemente Foundation. 
"We must all live together and work together no matter what race or nationality.  If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth."

- Roberto Clemente (1971)

Through these connections, Victor Rivera-Collazo has continued to work closely with Luis Clemente and The Clemente Foundation, as the two have provided community service in Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio.  On their trip in January, Rivera-Collazo, Paul Scherrman, and Joe Carbone met up with Luis in Puerto Rico and administered aid. They bought groceries and stocked up on supplies. However, Carbone says "The connections we made and the time we spent with the people of Puerto Rico will be something I never forget."
Rivera-Collazo and Joe Carbone both coach Division III Baseball at SUNY Canton, a four-year college located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.  Coach Rivera-Collazo also serves as the Chaplain of the Syracuse Skychiefs, the Washington Nationals AAA affiliate.  Over the past ten years, the two have been influential in recruiting many Puerto Rican students to the college. Luis' youngest son, Roberto "Bobby" Antonio Clemente Igartua, is now in his senior season as an outfielder on the team.  In the immediate days that followed Hurricane Maria, Bobby and several of his Puerto Rican classmates initiated a donation drive at the school and throughout the surrounding area to so that financial assistance and supplies could be sent back in support of their people. The collections and funds raised were all distributed directly to the people of the Island of Puerto Rico.
Maurizio Paniconi-Pagan, Erdous Lebron, Wilson Matos, Bobby Clemente, & Luis Torres Rivera brought the community together to collect necessities for the people of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. 
In 2016, Luis Clemente, Coach Victor Rivera-Collazo and Coach Joe Carbone worked tirelessly to host the Clemente Cup - the first-ever collegiate baseball tournament in Puerto Rico.  For months, they planned, budgeted, contacted coaches across the United States, and set up accommodations for this endeavor.  Ten teams played in the tournament and economists estimate that it generated over $2 million dollars within the Puerto Rican economy.  Meet Puerto Rico named The Clemente Cup as one of the "Top Five Economic Stimulators" for the island in 2016. 
The Clemente Family with the State University of New York Canton Baseball Team 
in Puerto Rico during the Inaugural Clemente Cup. (Photo: 2016 Nate Hart) 
Last year, Luis visited SUNY Canton to speak as an honored guest for their Living Writers Series in the college’s auditorium. He spoke in detail of his father's work, while also motivating the members of the audience to be a positive light in the world. Currently, Bobby and the members of the SUNY Canton baseball team are trying to raise $20,000 dollars here in the North Country to help Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands rebuild. 
Luis Clemente with the State University of New York Canton Baseball Team in Canton, NY.
Now this extremely important connection has gone full circle through "a leap of faith," from the Island of Puerto Rico to a college campus in upstate New York. SUNY Canton coaches Joe Carbone and Victor Rivera-Collazo will be once again returning to Puerto Rico in May. This time they will join Mr. Luis Clemente, Paul Scherrman and several more "Ghost Players" from The Field of Dreams to deliver more to the people who are still in need. These efforts needed in support of the courageous people of Puerto Rico are far from over!

As Roberto Clemente lived his life and always believed, each of us should seize every opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone else!


¬ Paul Scherrman raised over $4,000 dollars which he distributed while they were in Puerto Rico.  Many parents, including Julie Miller, have become actively involved in supporting the next trip in May. Please consider contacting Coach Joe Carbone and Coach Victor Rivera-Collazo if you wish to offer your assistance in helping the people of Puerto Rico:




carbonej@canton.edu
victorreveracollazo@gmail.com
c/o Men’s Baseball Program
SUNY Canton 34 Cornell Drive Canton, New York 13617

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