Esperanza leaders and scholars pose with honoree Donald Graham and Gaby Pacheco. From left to right:  Esperanza co-founders Alvaro Bedoya and Alice Wang, scholar Gloribel Pereira, Donald Graham, scholar Bibiana Valdes, Gaby Pacheco, and Esperanza committee chair Francella Chinchilla.

Nearly 200 friends of Esperanza gathered on Friday night for the anniversary gala at the Carnegie Institute. Celebrating five years of scholarship awards and five years of gala fundraisers at the Carnegie, the evening featured a lineup of performers, guests, and students that made the anniversary especially memorable. Elizabeth Roe and Greg Anderson, the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, played a set that left the audience thrilled and speechless, and even offered their personal insights into their musical interpretations. After a standing ovation and encore, 2013 Esperanza Scholar Gloribel Pereira spoke to the audience about the obstacles she had overcome to achieve her dream of attending college and how important the support from Esperanza has been in making her enrollment at George Mason University possible. Following Ms. Pereira’s comments, Esperanza leaders presented the first-ever Esperanza Award to Donald Graham for advancing hope in the immigrant community. He was joined by special guest Gaby Pacheco, Program Director of the national scholarship fund, TheDream.US.

Works by painters Naomi Chung, Delna Dastur, Teresa Oaxaca, and Michael Jose Torra, sculptor Patricia Silva-Sanstisteban, photographer Daniel Penchina, and fine jeweler Alberto Parada were on display and for sale, with significant portions of the proceeds going towards future Esperanza scholarships. Art is still available for purchase–please see the featured artists page for details and more information about all the artists.

Thank you for making our anniversary celebration such a success! We had a great time with you, and most importantly, we raised funds that will go towards our next round of scholarships! We’re particularly grateful for the support of our sponsors, the JBG Companies, WilmerHale, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the Raben Group, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the Washington Regional Transplant Community, Ms. Natalie Wexler, and Ms. Susan Vitka.

If you weren’t able to attend there’s still time to make a contribution to this year’s scholarships.

Please enjoy more photos after the jump and on our Facebook page.

» Continue reading “5th Anniversary Benefit Concert: Extraordinary Music, Special Guests, Inspiring Scholars, and Beautiful Art!”

Esperanza is thrilled to invite you to join us on Friday, March 14th at 8pm in the ballroom of the Carnegie Institution for our fifth anniversary benefit concert featuring the Emmy-nominated and Julliard-trained Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe, “the most dynamic duo of this generation” (San Francisco Classical Voice). The evening will honor Mr. Donald Graham, former publisher of The Washington Post and founder of TheDream.US scholarship. Mr. Graham will receive the first-ever Esperanza Award. The concert will be followed by a champagne reception and art exhibit featuring the region’s finest immigrant artists and artisans, including the painters Naomi Chung, Delna Dastur, Teresa Oaxaca, and Michael Jose Torra, sculptor Patricia Silva-Sanstisteban, photographer Daniel Penchina, and fine jeweler Alberto Parada.

The Anderson and Roe Piano Duo have appeared on MTV’s Total Request Live and NPR’s All Things Considered. Anderson & Roe have toured the world’s leading concert halls with their explosive performances, while also electrifying audiences everywhere through their striking visual re-imagining of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Their most recent album, When Worlds Fade, topped the Billboard Classical charts for over a dozen weeks.

Please consider a patron or host sponsorship – a powerful way to help Esperanza finance new scholarships. We’re thrilled to announce the JBG Companies as a concert host for this event and WilmerHale, the Raben Group, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as patrons.  All patrons and hosts will be recognized during the gala; hosts will also be featured in promotional materials. A portion of all sponsorships and tickets will be tax-deductible. You may purchase tickets or sponsor this event by using the form below or by contacting us at info@esperanzafund.org.

Thank you for your support!

Please visit our 5th Anniversary Benefit Concert: Tickets and Sponsorship Page to purchase tickets or a sponsorship package.

• Awarded $90,000 in grants to ten scholars;
• Received a record number of scholarship applications;
• Achieved 100% attendance at our fourth annual Career Day;
• Hosted our first-ever graduation party for Esperanza scholars; and
• Hired our first paid staff member, a part-time Director of Operations!

To read more, you can download the full annual report.

The 2014 application for the Esperanza Education Fund Scholarship is available at http://apps.esperanzafund.org.