Canton, NY – During the final weeks of September 2017, Hurricane Maria swept across Puerto Rico, devastating the entire island and altering the lives of all of its people. This has been well-documented by the media since the first ravages of the storm began. However, several months later the island still suffers from the tragic devastation.
 
Now, four months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's need for assistance is still painfully obvious. The damage is so bad the island will undoubtedly be feeling the effects of the storm for many years to come.
 
For this very reason, State University of New York at Canton's head baseball coach Joseph Carbone, and former Iowa State Senator Paul Scherrman traveled to the island with Puerto Rican native Victor Rivera-Collazo at the beginning of January. Scherrman also acted as one of the "Ghost Players" in The Field of Dreams (1989). The Academy Award-nominated film's underlying theme parallels similarly to their Puerto Rican journey.  Ray Kinsella, the movie's main character, must take a leap of faith to build "The Field of Dreams." 
   
In many ways, Carbone, Rivera-Collazo, and Scherrman took a leap of faith by traveling to the island after the storm.  The intention was to provide any assistance they could possibly offer.  When they landed in Rivera-Collazo's homeland, they immediately realized that the situation was still much worse than they could have possibly imagined.
 
To read the full story from Francesco Palumbo click HERE. If you would like to help in the relief efforts in Puerto Rico or would like to make a donation please contact Head Baseball Coach Joe Carbone at carbonej@canton.edu or (315) 386-7396.
 
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About SUNY Canton
SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 13 exclusively online degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level and are joining the North Atlantic Conference beginning in the 2018-19 academic year.