This week I was very proud of my San Pedro youth! Never have I seen such a big group of well-organized young souls working arduously for something they believe in. In the past, event organizers and pushers have always been very well-known and respected adults in our community. Our island teens and young adults have always been auxiliaries to these leaders, great followers but never leaders.
It is until recently, in the past few months, that I have seen an emergence of strong-minded and dedicated youngsters willing to give up much of their time to causes and projects that concern our island and community.
This past weekend, we saw such a very young group of people heading fundraisers for Baby Daniel Estell whose life depends on an immediate liver transplant. The situation is particularly hard-hitting to our youth as they can relate this heart-breaking situation to the young couple of Ilda Guerrero and Daniel Estell who are suffering so much right now. They have seen a family member and friend in need and they are doing all they can to assist.
It was with pride that I saw this group of youngsters take the reign into their own hands to organize raffles, food sales, a beach party, a club event, manning telephone lines at a radiothon and even standing on the street all day stopping motorists during their dollar drive.
And some of these same youngsters have also become members of great organizations that are working hard to make changes in our community. Look at the strong emergence of the San Pedro AIDS Committee and San Pedro Cancer Society. These two great organizations are being headed by enthusiastic and civic-minded young ladies and gentlemen who are setting examples to their peers and encouraging many to join.
I see their meetings being announced on a weekly basis and their presence is felt strong at community events such like Dia de San Pedro, Lobster Fest and Carnaval. They make their events fun for both their members and participants while they raise funds for worthy causes.
So I dedicate this editorial to all the willful, noble and hard-working youngsters who are making a difference in our community. I applaud them for their work and encourage them to continue fighting and call on others to join these and other great organizations that we have in our community. The next step is getting new blood as our political leaders both in the national and local scale. It’s time for a positive change.
