Círculo de la Hispanidad 43rd Anniversary Spring Gala

Having good evaluations and audits allowed me to keep the dream alive. GRACIAS. A thousand thanks to all participants and sponsors over the years. You have helped us achieve our mission. I also want to express my gratitude to our 2023 participants and sponsors . Thank you to all our Honorees for accepting our invitation to be part of our history and supporting the Gala. Gracias. I want to thank the Gala’s Planning Committee for supporting our honorees and our Gala. Their support has been essential in the always stressful work of implementing a successful event. Thank you Círculo’s Board members, staff, colleagues, volunteers and friends for supporting the journal, the raffle and selling tickets. I also want to give a special thanks to Leslie Kringel , Gala Coordinator, as well as Nancy Iglesias, our consultant for the Gala. As always, I want to thank my family for their encouragement. They have helped me to face the many difficulties that I have encountered over the years. Gracias Sarah Brewster, my partner in work and in life. Gracias por todo, thank you for everything. You continue to inspire me and I enjoy working with you every day. Gracias to my deceased parents, brother, niece and sister-in-law. I miss them. They have always inspired me in my difficult times. I want to thank family and my three children, Deborah, Daniel and Gil Miguel for their support. They share not only my happy moments but also my challenging ones and they continue to give me encouragement to persevere. I continue to enjoy spending time with my grandchildren, my precious Rebecca, Sofía, Giuliana, Isak, Gabriella and Sebastián. My special thoughts are with Bárbara Dubow Bernardino, Co-Founder of Círculo de la Hispanidad. She passed away in August 2021 and is deeply missed. Her contributions to our organization, the Hispanic Community and the community at large, are countless. Without Bárbara, the mother of my children, Círculo de la Hispanidad could not have been founded. I am grateful forever!!! You will always be close to my heart.

Message from the Founder & Executive Director Círculo de la Hispanidad Gil Bernardino

While this year was challenging, it was also fruitful. I am grateful to all who continue to support Círculo on our journey to support the vulnerable and to lift up lives through education and resources. I am excited to be back in the Garden City Hotel. Due to the pandemic, it has been four years since we last celebrated at this location. We held our Gala last year at Círculo Center in June. We had a fantastic experience and were happy to share, celebrate successes and raise funds to support youth scholarships and community programming. Thus far, Círculo has been able to sustain programs and we continue to provide important services to clients affected by HIV, mental disabilities, domestic violence, and families with limited resources. While we have had some cuts in funding this year, we have also continued to search for alternative funding sources. We are happy to announce that we have expanded our domestic violence services to offer additional support to victims of violence and other crimes. Our food pantry has continued to be a main source of support to many in the community and we are grateful to all for donations to help address food security issues in our region. Over the year we have provided hundreds of meals to individuals and families through a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, milk, dried and canned goods. Evergreen Charter School, founded with the support of Círculo de la Hispanidad, continues to grow. We now serve 975 students from kindergarten to eleventh grade. We continue to expand and will serve 1,100 students this fall from grades kindergarten to twelfth grade. Sadly, we continue to have over 500 students on the waiting list. We were happy to celebrate the Groundbreaking of Evergreen’s new Secondary School facility on April 22, 2023. This 85,000 square foot building will be one of the first schools on the East coast to use cross laminated timber in its structure. The school is seeking Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building design has received a national award! You may ask why I report the news of Evergreen Charter School in my letter about Círculo. Círculo founded Evergreen. Evergreen would not have existed without Círculo. While we maintain separate boards and funding sources, we celebrate Evergreen’s success as our success. In conclusion, Evergreen’s vision of providing hope and a future for children’s right to an excellent education is the result of the same vision and mission of Círculo de la Hispanidad. Thank you to all Círculo de la Hispanidad supporters, current and past, who in different ways, have impacted the establishment of Evergreen Charter School by supporting our organization. In the name of the many students who are and will benefit throughout the years. Gracias. As the Founder and Executive Director, I understand the importance of Círculo’s staff and their contributions through our history. They supported the organization with their daily work and ensured that programs and activities have been implemented in a financially sound manner.

"Cambiar el mundo amigo Sancho, que no es locura ni utopía, sino justicia".

" To change the world my friend Sancho, is not madness nor utopia, it's justice".

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