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Build 45!

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Build 45!

Puerto Rico’s Walkway of the Presidents, located on the grounds of the Capitol Building
in San Juan, was inaugurated in 2010 to commemorate the American Presidents who
have visited the U.S. Caribbean territory.

Due to the insolvency of the territorial government, which has been under federal fiscal
supervision since 2016, expenses for non-essential public services and works projects
have been curtailed, and the current Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly’s lack of action
to both commission and put in place the pending statue commemorating President
Trump’s October 3, 2017 visit to Puerto Rico has been blamed on this reality.

In view of the above, it is only fitting that patriotic citizens, both in Puerto Rico and
throughout the United States, unite to contribute the funds necessary to build and
inaugurate a statue of President Trump along Puerto Rico’s Walkway of the Presidents.
According to news reports, it cost approximately $25,000 to build each of the current
nine bronze statues honoring the Presidents in Puerto Rico.

To cover all the costs of completing and inaugurating the statue of President Trump, the
Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Virginia and the College Republicans of
Puerto Rico have launched the joint GoFundMe campaign Build 45!, to which everyone
is invited to contribute, in whatever amount they would like, until we reach the $45,000
goal.

President Trump visited Puerto Rico in its greatest time of need, in the immediate
aftermath of Hurricane María. Contrary to the fake news narrative, when it comes to
Puerto Rico, President Trump has been extraordinarily attentive and generous,
including seven meetings with Puerto Rico’s Democrat Governor, Ricardo Rosselló. In
reality, Puerto Rico has received extra generous treatment from President Trump, who
given the fiscal mess in the territory decided to waive the normal 25% requirement for
local government cost-sharing of emergency recovery work and authorized 100%
federal funding of that work for nearly a year.

During the first six months following the disaster, total FEMA funding for Puerto Rico
reached $9.9 billion, more than the entire annual budget of the island’s central
government, and more than any other disaster in U.S. history at that same point in time,
with the exception of Hurricane Katrina. The Trump administration’s supply of food and
water for Puerto Rico was the largest and longest domestic air and sea mission of food,
water, commodities and electrical generators in American history.

Altogether, it is projected that Puerto Rico will benefit from $91 billion in federal disaster recovery aid, including $20 billion in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development community development block grants, the largest allocation of that type in the agency’s history.

It is also worth keeping in mind that the statues in Puerto Rico’s Walkway of the
Presidents do not represent an official endorsement of the policy record of each of the
various Presidents, but rather simply commemorate the historical fact of their visits to
the United States of America’s largest remaining territory.

Finally, no matter what his detractors say, following the horrific hurricane of 2017,
Puerto Rico is being rebuilt better than it was before, and that rebuilding is due in no
small part to the actions of President Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his abiding
love for the people of Puerto Rico, such as on September 27, 2017 when he declared
that “Puerto Rico is very important to me, and Puerto Rico—the people are fantastic
people. I grew up in New York, so I know many people from Puerto Rico. I know many
Puerto Ricans. And these are great people, and we have to help them.”

That is why it is now altogether fitting that patriotic Americans in Puerto Rico and
throughout the nation undertake this joint campaign to build and facilitate the
inauguration of a historic commemorative statue of President Trump on Puerto Rico’s
Walkway of the Presidents.

If you donate to our campaign, the funds will be received by the College Republican Federation of Puerto Rico, a non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. I, Fernando Jimenez, the organizer, am the current Chairman of the organization. The funds proceeding from GoFundMe shall be deposited in the organization's Banco Popular bank account in Puerto Rico. As Chairman of the organization I am responsible for how the money shall be spent. The cost of building the statue is between $35,000 to $40,000; however, there might be additional costs that may appear in the process of transporting the statue, placing the pedestal for the bronze plaque  explaining President Trump's visit (which is estimated to cost around $6,850), and unveiling it. We want to spend this money wisely. 

We remind you that the purpose of this campaign, for which we seek your generous contribution, is to preserve a historic tradition in Puerto Rico; the commissioning of statues of the U.S. Presidents that have visited the island while in office. The statues are placed on the grounds of Puerto Rico's Capitol Building. Your contribution is not destined to be spent on a political campaign. We hope to reach our goal and see you in Puerto Rico once the statue is inaugurated.

At the request of GoFundMe, we inform you that the funds will be withdrawn by Jo-Ann Chase, who is co-leading this effort with me. GoFundMe does not let residents of Puerto Rico to withdraw their money to a Puerto Rican bank account. GoFundMe also requires the person to have an address in one of the 50 states, and Mrs. Chase complies with this requirement. Mrs. Chase has already opened an account with United Bank in Virginia that is destined to receive the donations from GoFundMe. Mrs. Chase and I are always in contact throughout this campaign and we will continue working to  get the funds to the College Republican Federation of Puerto Rico so we can BUILD 45!
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Organizer and beneficiary

Fernando Jimenez
Organizer
Río Piedras, PR
Jo-Ann Chase
Beneficiary

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