On November 16, 2016, National Philanthropic Day, Nueva Esperanza, Inc. was one of three organization’s in Western MA who received the 2016 President’s Awards for organizations Honoring Diversity within NGOs in the Western MA Philanthropic Community. The award was presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Western Massachusetts Chapter. Board President of Nueva Esperanza, Inc., Joshua A. Garcia, was joined by Board members Alan Gilburg, Juan Sanchez, and Rosa Pantoja to accept the award on behalf of the full Board of Directors.
Garcia said, “To bring effective change, we need to identify ways to help otherwise “powerless” people organize in large enough numbers to gain access to the decisions that are made about their communities. Once people can experience a sense of power to affect decisions about their lives and neighborhoods, they can begin to feel a sense of hope, in turn, take an active role in civic life. When this happens, only then we will see equitable representation of all neighborhoods within positions of power and experience successful quality of life developments in various areas, thus breaking down the barriers contributing toward the challenges of our communities.”
This is a vision our founding members strongly believed in, and its the very idea we will continue to advocate for and support in our communities.