In March of this year, the Foundation celebrates its eighth year of existence and it is a source of great pride for all of us to see how this illusion of serving continues to be latent in our mission and in all of us who collaborate with it. There is a saying that “human beings live to serve or else they are not good for living”. Although it sounds a bit strong, it represents the nature of the human being in search of happiness. That happiness that comes to us by conduction; by seeing those we love and those who need us happy. Our Foundation continues to impact the lives of socioeconomically disadvantaged children and young people, giving them tools for their formation as future leaders of our country.
It is with great joy that I inform you that Analis Barreto, a former member of our Board of Directors two years ago, has joined our Board of Directors as a member of the Admissions Committee. Analis is studying psychology at the Universidad del Caribe in Old San Juan. We are sure that Analis’ integration to the Board will give us a new dimension in the decisions to be made since we will have the perspective of the “millenials”, which we did not have before and which is so important for the decision making of the young people of our society. I would also like to inform you of the resignation of our Deputy Secretary, Katiana Perez. Katiana has accepted the offer of Executive Director of the Organization “Alianza para un PR sin drogas”. We are infinitely grateful for Katiana’s valuable contribution to our Foundation and we wish her the greatest success in this new professional stage.
On February 4th we held our 6th Gala for the Foundation’s funds at the Centro Ferial in Ponce. It was a great success not only in economic terms but also for the magnificent activity that took place in terms of fraternization and sharing with groups that consistently support our Foundation. A very special thanks to Karen Scalley and her activities committee who were in charge of the organization of the event.
Additionally, on March 4, the second leadership workshop of this school year was held. The theme of the workshop was Media Advocacy, which was offered to scholarship recipients from grade 8 to grade 12. These workshops are in line with the Foundation’s strategy of collaborating in the formation of leadership within our scholarship recipients. To this end, we implemented a program of four blocks of workshops, which each scholarship recipient must complete during high school and are part of the requirements for scholarship selection and/or renewal. We have done this in partnership with PAS, an organization dedicated to working with young people with social problems.
The fiscal situation of our country has a direct impact on our social situation; therefore, we need as a country to take the reins of our future; being education and the formation of values the spearheads to such ends. As Don Carlos used to say, “Education is our greatest treasure”.
Thank you for continuing to support the work of the Foundation.
Ing. Luis Alberto Ocasio – President of the Board