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Valoramás’ Grants Event Videos: Chicago and Houston

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Have you seen the videos from the Valoramás’ Founders’ Grants Initiative events in Chicago and Houston? If not, then check them out below!

Valoramás recently concluded our successful Founders’ Grants Initiative in Chicago and Houston by hosting community events to honor our 16 Latino community partners in those cities.

Catering provided by Adobo Grill - Chicago

In between some tasty Mexican snacks and a fun atmosphere, Valoramás gave away more than $150,000 in unrestricted funds to our community partners based on the votes of our thousands of members at valoramas.com. Media outlets Telemundo and Multimedios joined us and covered the Houston event for local television.

We couldn’t be more pleased with the way that Houston and Chicago came together to help us honor those doing such great work in the Latino community.

Founders’ Grants Initiative Event – Houston

Our Houston event was held at Talento Bilingüe de Houston’s spacious lobby, which doubles as a gallery for art exhibits and is a cultural hub in Houston’s East End neighborhood.

KIPP Houston receives 2nd place in the Valoramás Founders' Grants Initiative - Houston

The grand prize winning organization, receiving $35,000, was the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA). The second-place group was KIPP Houston, who took home $17,500. Third place went to Arte Público Press, which won $10,000.

Our six other Houston community partners – Hispanic Women in Leadership (HWIL), Houston Area Women’s Center, Talento Bilingüe de Houston, the National Hispanic Professional Organization Leadership Institute, El Centro de Corazón, and the Latino Learning Center – all received $2,500 in unrestricted funds.

Here is the summary video of our Houston event:

Founders’ Grants Initiative Event - Chicago

Enlace Chicago receives 3rd place in the Valoramás Founders' Grants Initiative - Chicago

The Chicago event was held at the beautiful National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

Instituto del Progreso Latino received the grand prize check of $35,000. Mujeres Latinas en Acción took second place of $17,500 and also won the special award of $2,500 for getting the most votes in the final extended week of our Founders’ Grants Initiative competition, bringing their total up to $20,000. Third place went to Enlace Chicago, which received $10,000.

Valoramás Cake by Azucar Rococo, Chicago

Valoramás’ other four Chicago community partners – Corazón Community Services, Teatro Luna, Red Mexicana de Líderes y Organizaciones Migrantes, and El Hogar del Niño – all received $2,500 in unrestricted funds.

Everybody enjoyed themselves and our friends at Azucar Rococo wowed us with a fantastic Valoramás cake, featuring an edible Veronica!

Check our our Chicago video:

Thanks so much to all our of wonderful community partners and to our thousands of Valoramás members for making our Founders’ Grants Initiative events affairs to remember!

We will be doing more with our Chicago and Houston partners, as well as partnering with more Latino-focused community groups as we spread our wings into other parts of the United States later this year. Stay tuned!