SAMARITANO 1 WELCOMES NEW BASKETBALL/VOLLEYBALL COURT

I hope everyone is in the mood for some good news.  After all, ‘tis the season. As our readers know, we love posting stories about philanthropy and sharing the work of good Samaritans, and today we have a great story for you that fits in perfectly with our mission to enrich the lives of the people in our local communities. 

Recently we posted about our "Grupo PUNTACANA With The Community" Project, and I would like to take a moment today to bring one of these projects to life for you.  

Paul Beswick, the Director of Social Projects here at Puntacana, shared with us the heartwarming story of Mrs. Lucia del Rio, who he refers to as “doña diosa”.  Mrs. Lucia del Rio recently donated a basketball court to Samaritano 1, a neighboring town about fifteen minutes from the resort.  Like most of the neighboring towns, Samaritano 1 has its own leagues and sports teams, but they are often held back by a lack of adequate facilities to practice.  This is also the perfect place for a new basketball court as there are about 500 children and adolescents living in the area, and the new facility will allow even more children to participate. 

The basketball court is being overseen by a neighborhood committee which was established to care for the new facility and consists of seven members from the local community.  The court was named the Christian Santana Court, in memory of Mrs. del Rio’s husband, and comes equipped with lighting so that it can be used at night and for more official events.  One event that we are all looking forward to will take place in summer 2015 when the court will host a tournament between the local barrios sponsored by Puntacana.  Let’s not to get ahead of ourselves, though, because the inauguration of the court was an exciting event in and of itself. 

On December 17th 2014 at 4pm, the local Samaritanos team got to play a friendly game with the Dominican Republic’s Eastern Team, Los Caneros.  Even a local radio station, KOOL FM, was there to help inaugurate the new court.  Before the big game could take place, however, the local children were given “Grupo Puntacana Con La Comunidad” t-shirts, and a few words were said by Puntacana founder Frank Rainieri.  After that, games were played and prizes were awarded.  A local pastor said a few words, and then finally Mrs. del Rio herself had an opportunity to speak.  Finally, cake was cut, and it was game on.   

As you can see, exciting things are happening in our local communities, and it’s all thanks to people getting involved.  This project would never have been possible without the generous and loving donation by Mrs. Lucia del Rio, and she has given the area something that it will use for years to come.