THE FLATS – Jackets Without Borders, Georgia Tech athletics’ award-winning international service program, departed on Sunday for its first trip in three years, as 16 student-athletes and four staff members traveled to Villa del Rio, Puerto Rico to continue hurricane rehabilitation efforts following the storms that devastated the island in 2017.
Founded in 2017, this year’s Jackets Without Borders trip is the fourth overall and the first since 2019, as the program was suspended for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will mark JWOB’s third trip to Villa del Rio, as the community continues to rebuild from the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Prior to the trips to Villa del Rio, the initial Jackets Without Borders project took place in Cartago, Costa Rica in 2017, where Georgia Tech’s student-athletes and staff assisted the in building a multi-use sports court for a K-12 school.
In 2019, Jackets Without Borders was the recipient of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s prestigious Game Changers Award as the ACC’s top service initiative of the year.
This year’s Jackets Without Borders trip is the first to be entirely funded without Georgia Tech athletics department operational funds, as funds for the $40,000 trip were raised entirely by participating student-athletes, teams and generous donors.
The 16 student-athletes that made the journey to Puerto Rico for the fourth Jackets Without Borders trip are: LaMiles Brooks (football), Avyonce Carter (women’s basketball), Carmyn Harrison (women’s basketball), Colin Hemingway (football), Jaylon King (football), Ryan King (football), Rebecca Lieber (spirit), Eylia Love (women’s basketball), Michael Maye (football), Will Milam (football), Luke Moseley (football), Bubba Parham (men’s basketball), Lucas Rary (spirit), Myles Sims (football), Chase Sippola (football) and Calyn Siver (spirit). Georgia Tech athletics members include Reid Ferrin (Total Person Program manager), Will Glover (football), Rachel Matthews (sports medicine) and Brett Hrouda (Legends).
The Georgia Tech contingent will be in Puerto Rico for seven days and return to Atlanta on Saturday, May 14.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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