| Georgetown Recognizes Fabretto |
From March 5 - 9, Georgetown University celebrated the John Carroll Awards Weekend in Madrid, Spain. The JCW is an annual event when Alumni are recognized for their contributions to the University. In addition, each year, one organization is designated as the beneficiary of the weekend's community service initiative and as you've probably guessed by now, the Fabretto Children's Foundation was this year's choice.
Kevin Marinacci and Patricia Aragonés, both Hoyas from the undergraduate class of 1989, were in attendance to represent Fabretto. The five days of the John Carroll Awards (yes, longer than a weekend!) were packed with receptions, opportunities to visit the city and its landmarks, and educational forums - all hosted by the University. Kevin and Patricia were honored to meet many important dignitaries including His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbon y Grecia (G'95) and his wife the Princess Letizia Ortiz; the Former President of Spain José María Aznar (shown above) and his wife Ana Botella; U.S. Ambassador to Spain Eduardo Aguirre and his wife Maria Teresa; and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy Hugo Llorens (F'77) and his wife Lisett.
At the closing Gala Dinner, Fabretto was given the opportunity to present a short video highlighting our work and featuring some songs from the Coro Fabrettino, the youth choir from Cusmapa. The University's President, John J. DeGioia, had the following very kind words to say, "Our heritage certainly challenges each of us - every member of the Georgetown community - to accept responsibility for the most vulnerable, the most wounded, the most needy in our midst. This is the mission that we live everyday. Fabretto truly embodies and personifies this present reality - our continuing moral responsibility to help those in need in our global community. We are honored to have the Foundation as our community service initiative this weekend".
Needless to say, the JCW was a highlight event for Fabretto and we are deeply grateful to all those who helped to make it such a success, especially Jennifer Paul of the University's Alumni Relations Office and President DeGioia. We would also especially like to thank GU Club of Spain President Ismael González de Diego (B'86) for being a wonderful Fabretto advocate as well as his predecessor Maria Luisa Benítez-Donoso (G´01). Our Madrid office looks forward to doing more activities with Ismael and the other Hoyas in Spain! Finally, many thanks also go to Outsider Inc for its generous collaboration on the video and CIEE for the sponsorship of the Fabetto goodie bags that were handed out to JCAW attendees.
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Our Trip to Nicaragua... Fabretto Memories |
Last month, we went on the Friends of Fabretto trip to meet the wonderful children of Nicaragua. We have been Fabretto donors since 2006, when we established a Memorial Fund in honor of our beautiful daughter Lindsey, who died in a car accident in 2004. Supporting Fabretto is a way of celebrating her life by helping children in need, a cause she cared deeply about.
This was our first trip to Central America and we really didn't know what to expect. Of course we knew Nicaragua was a poor country, but seeing it first hand was eye opening. Most people live in small shacks with intermittent electricity, no running water, bathrooms, and little food. The lucky ones travel by bus, but most walk or ride donkeys and horses. A stop at the Managua city dump especially underscored the tremendous need. Sadly, many families live in and around the dump, clinging to survival. For their children, Fabretto's new program there is their best opportunity for an education and a nutritious meal each day.
We visited Fabretto's five main centers. We were pleased that each one has several classrooms, a library and computer labs. We were impressed with the agricultural programs where they grow their own food and teach the students agronomy, an important skill in this agricultural country. We saw Fabretto's new secondary school program (SAT) through which many of the rural children can now go onto high school. The school year had just started and the centers were filled with activity. The enthusiasm of both the children and the teachers was incredible. It was heartwarming to learn that many of the staff had been Fabretto children who have now come back to serve their community!
The very best part of the trip was the children. Everywhere we went our group was met with hugs and kisses. The children were so happy to see us and very enthusiastic to be in school. We saw classroom learning firsthand and many centers put on welcome shows where the students sang, danced, read poetry and played musical instruments. We met several who have gone onto college. The children all loved having their picture taken and seeing themselves on the digital cameras!
Under the leadership of Kevin Marinacci, Alex Garcia and their wonderful staff, Fabretto fills a tremendous void. It is inspiring for us to donate to such a wonderful organization in Lindsey's memory. We look forward to visiting again and encourage everyone to consider next year's Friends of Fabretto trip!
Diane & David Miller, Washington D.C. |
| Pre-School - Better With Little Chairs! |
 Pre-school is often a critical and very successful intervention measure in helping poor children. An earlier start on learning gives them a boost so that they can succeed once they start primary school. Also, access to a feeding program provides an opportunity to begin halting the effects of severe malnutrition that so many of these toddlers face. These things are true here in the U.S. as well as in Nicaragua.
Two years ago, Fabretto started on the path of providing early childhood services in the communities we serve. The move made sense since we knew that virtually 100% of these youngsters would eventually be in our programs by the time they reached regular school. We wanted them to be as ready as possible to do well and their communities do not have state funded pre-schools since education is only guaranteed as of primary.
Today, we are hosting or helping 34 pre-school classrooms with more than 900 youngsters enrolled! Our quick launch into the program meant that we did not have all the funds needed to outfit all the pre-school classrooms with toddler sized tables, chairs, toys and instructional materials. Many of the children have been using salvaged adult size furniture and there has been a severe lack of age appropriate manipulatives. However, thanks to the success of Chicago Benefit's Live Auction, virtually all of the classrooms will now be outfitted with the right materials. Students can now focus more on learning, rather than getting on and off a too big chair! |
| Seeking a Sponsor for Edmundo |
Eight year old Edmundo Enrique lives in San Isidro de Bolas and attends the Felix Ruben primary school. He is in first grade where his teachers report he is doing well, though math is a bit of struggle as he has not yet learned his multiplication tables!
Edmundo's favorite activities are playing soccer, watching TV, chasing butterflies, reading books and comics, painting and drawing. In the Fabretto program, he particularly enjoys PE (no surprise there!) and the Civics & Values class. He hopes to be able to take guitar lessons one day through our music program as this is his favorite instrument.
Family Situation: Edmundo lives in a house made of cement with a corrugate metal roof that is home to 8 members of his family. They have electricity and an outdoor latrine, and while the house is well kept, it is very small for so many people. His father, also named Edmundo, is 50 years and unemployed. He has been looking for work for a while now, but hasn't found any. In the meantime, he helps his wife Jamileth with household chores. Jamileth is 39 and works as a cook in a private home, making approximately $100 a month. She is the only one in the family that is earning regular income.
From his Parents: Both Edmundo's parents are very pleased that he is enrolled in the Fabretto program. They say, "We are happy with the changes we have seen in Edmundo since he started with Fabretto. He didn't used to want to do his homework. Now, he enjoys studying and is excited to go to school and participate in all the extracurricular activities that Fabretto provides, especially the lunch program. His Fabretto teacher has been a big help, encouraging him to work hard and pay attention." Edmundo Sr. and Jamileth intend to continue to encourage their son to go to school and do well. They are hopeful that a Sponsor will come forward and help them provide Edmundo with everything he needs to do this. Will it be you?
To Sponsor Edmundo: Contact our sponsorship coordinator Joanne Mazzella at mazzellaj@fabretto.org. Sponsorship is just $30/month and in return for your support you will get lovely, personal letters from Edmundo, his parent's gratitude, and the knowledge that you are helping a creative young boy and his family break the cycle of poverty through education. |
| Upcoming Events |
Mark your calendars now for an upcoming event in your city! Visit our website for ticket purchases and detailed info as it becomes available.
NEW YORK, NY
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Charity Happy Hour
Hosted by Fabretto's Young Professionals Network
Mad River Bar & Grille on the Upper West Side
NEW YORK, NY
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Night for Niños at the Metropolitan Pavilion
Honoring Corazon de Oro recipients, Sheldon and Samantha Kasowitz. The evening's Tribute Dinner is sure to be one of our best ever!
Reservations are required!
MIAMI, FL
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Night for Niños at Nikki Beach
We're in Coconut Grove this year - the hottest new spot in Miami! Come enjoy with us!
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Being a Friend of Fabretto |
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Dear Friends,
Late winter and spring are always very busy times for our office in Virginia as we get into full swing for three of our annual Night for Niños Benefits - Chicago, New York, and Miami, as well as a growing number of other Fabretto sponsored get-togethers around the country.
The Windy City event is now under our belt, having taken place on Saturday, March 1 at the River East Arts Center. This year marked the first time that the Chicago Benefit Committee hosted a sit down dinner in addition to the traditional Fiesta - and what a success it was! Committee Chairs Mark and Sarah Marinacci did an amazing job steering the efforts of all the volunteer members, with lots of help from Michael Callahan and many others. The Fabretto staff and the children we serve owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for the work done by everyone on the Committee. Not only did the evening raise over $120,000 in unrestricted funds to support our operating programs, but the Special Project Live Auction raised over $30,000 to fund the purchase of classroom furniture and supplies for our newly expanded pre-school programs which started this year at 15 new locations! Needless to say, this was an unparalleled success and we are simply thrilled. So thank you Chicago!
We of course hope for similar successes at our upcoming New York and Miami events, taking place on April 24th and May 17th respectively. If you will be in the area for either of these events - we hope you will join us for what promise to be wonderful evenings of friendship and Fabretto support!
As you will see from the article on Georgetown's John Carroll Awards Weekend, our Spain office has also been very busy planning and coordinating Fabretto's participation in that affair. Unfortunately, I could not attend at the last minute, even though like Kevin and Patricia I am also from the class of 1989, but I have heard nothing but wonderful reviews and am jealous that I could not share in the fun! I look forward to hearing from all the Hoyas who were introduced to our work for the first time and that expressed an interest in our mission. I hope you enjoyed your time in Madrid and encourage you to call my office to introduce yourself.
As you might guess, the purpose of our Benefits and attending events like JCW is two-fold. Of course, the first is to raise much needed unrestricted funds in support of all programs and operations, not all of which can be or are yet funded with restricted grant funds. But just as important is our hope to increase awareness with new audiences of our work and of Nicaragua and its children. With a very lean office and an almost non-existent marketing budget, our success in reaching both these goals is highly dependent on the advocacy efforts of many event committee volunteers, donors, and program partners - the Friends of Fabretto. We could not do as much as we do in the classrooms at the centers and schools we serve without them.
I hope that after reading the article written by the Millers of their first time experience in Nicaragua, you will consider joining us for next year's Friends of Fabretto trip, especially if you have never been before. The trip is open to everyone and we will announce the dates for the 2009 trip in a few months. If you already trust in our mission and efforts, I promise that this trip will open your eyes and heart to an even greater belief in the work that our staff in Nicaragua do, day in and day out. And if you are still looking to be convinced, I promise as well that this will do it for you.
There are so many ways that you can be a Friend of Fabretto. If you have an idea for a way to advocate on our behalf or want to get more involved in our work, please do not hesitate to call me, I would be delighted to brainstorm with you. For example, it's not too late to join our New York and Miami Benefit Committees! Fabretto is still a small enough organization that anyone can have a direct and tremendous impact on the lives of the children and families in our programs.
I thank each and every one of you that have already done so much and look forward to your ongoing help and support as we to continue to grow so that we may serve more children. And to our newcomers - welcome to the Fabretto Family - we are very glad you've joined us.
Yours in Fabretto -
Alexandra S. Garcia
President | |
| Quick Links to Other Ways You Can Help |
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