The Wesley Chapel Rotary Club is planning its sixth trip to Honduras, and received a boost in that effort from local businessman J.D. Porter, who donated $2,000 to the Rotary at their March 29 luncheon at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club.
The club has raised roughly $25,000 for the upcoming trip. A group of Rotarians will spend a week in a country that is not only one of the poorest and neediest in South America, but also the most dangerous, as one Rotarian pointed out at the March 29 luncheon (to nervous laughter, perhaps). Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with more than 90 homicides per 100,000 people.
Members of the club have taken the trip for five years in conjunction with Pure Water for the World (PWW), a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization whose mission is to improve the lives of families in poor countries through sustainable water solutions, sanitation and hygiene education.
Porter made the donation in the name of the Wiregrass Ranch Foundation, his family’s not-for-profit corporation, which was founded in 2012.
He said the foundation is about, “the community, as we continue to see it grow. We started this, and we take no salaries, we just get out and raise money so we can have it available for local needs in the community. We’ve had a great time with it. And, we’ve raised a bunch of money.”
The Honduras trip turned out to be something near and dear to Porter’s heart.
He said his grandfather, after selling the first piece of Wiregrass Ranch property (which is now Saddlebrook), “one of the first things he did was he bought a boat.’’ Porter said he spent the next 2-3 years fishing in Central and South America, in places like Nicaragua and Venezuela. But, his favorite place was Honduras.
While recently cleaning out some of his family’s old stuff, Porter says he discovered papers that listed items that his grandfather had continued to send shipments of to Honduras, items like toothbrushes, band-aids, gum, candy, “random stuff that a lot of us take for granted.”
“That’s why this clicked with me…not only is it special to give back to such a great group here, it’s almost like continuing a legacy,’’ Porter said. “That’s kind of special. So, I feel honored to present a check for $2,000 so you guys can get out there and do something awesome for people, making a difference in someone’s life who truly deserves it.”
For more info about Porter’s foundation, visit WiregrassRanchFoundation.org. For the WC Rotary, visit WCRotary.org.
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