Focp Letter Of Recommedation Jillian Mercado

2/19/19 National Puerto Rican Day Parade Inc. ATTN: Scholarships P.O. Box 975 New York, NY, 10272 RE: Jillian Mercado Scholarship Application Dear National Puerto Rican Day Parade Inc. Committee, Five students at the Sports and Medical Science Academy had chosen the annual Roberto Clemente Celebration as their capstone project, Jillian Mercado was one of the students. The entire committee first met the beginning of October of 2018, but the student committee had met and begun work prior to our first community meeting. Our last meeting, which included a review, wrap-up and recommendations for improvements from the students was held the middle of January of 2019. This event took place on Monday, December 31st at 11:00 am, at the Sports and Medical Science Academy (SMSA), 280 Huyshope Avenue. Roberto Clemente was a beloved baseball player who died tragically in a plane crash on December 31, 1972 while traveling to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. It was a free, open to the public event that included entertainment with light refreshments. As part of this celebration the students organized a drawing contest for Hartford students with the theme, “Giving Back”, the collection of raffle items and a food drive was held for Hands on Hartford, a local non-profit. Clemente is an excellent role model to follow on and off the field and our hope is that by sharing his story, students will be inspired to follow his example. Hartford’s population is comprised of almost 35% of its residents identifying as Puerto Rican. Jillian worked with the student team to create all of the communications, including creation of a poster, post cards, donation letter template and participated in numerous radio broadcasts via Bomba 97.1. The students designed a memorial pin which was sold as a fundraiser and a free inspirational bracelet which was handed out to all of the

attendees. She attended weekly meetings with local community leaders, such as myself, President of the Friends of Colt Park, to communicate the status of outreach efforts to the schools, ordering of materials, and planning the layout and the program for the event. She provided minutes for the meetings and noted the progress of each action item from the previous meeting. The day before the event, she assisted with setup of chairs and other necessary equipment. On the day of the event, she assisted with guiding the volunteers to their work stations, answered questions, assisted with the flow of presenters, awarding prizes to the winners of the drawing competition and announcing the raffle winners. Jillian performed all of her duties with diligence and participated in every aspect of the celebration, she can be very proud of her accomplishments. She was a wonderful resource on our committee. Sincerely, Donna Sanchini Swarr Friends of Colt Park, President