|
 Our
Sept. 30th benefit at the Julia de Burgos Cultural
Center was a great success!! Scheduled to take place
only a few weeks after the tragic Sept. 11th attacks,
when New York City was still in turmoil, we decided
not to cancel and instead went ahead with our plans
or we would lose a considerable amount of money already
spent. Approximately 75 people attended to see video
screenings of our work-in-progress and listen to our
invited speakers. 
Co-Producer Raquel Ortíz introduced
the program and Keynote Speaker LTC(P) Gilberto
Villahermosa, Senior Military Historian from
the Center of Military History, enthralled the audience
with his knowledge of the 65th. Benefit Committee
Member Maj. Sam Delgado (Ret.) served
as Master of Ceremonies. We were honored to have some
special guests attend our event: Felix López,
Esq., the new Director of the Puerto Rico
Federal Affairs Administration office in New York
and María Román, Special
Assistant to Gov. Pataki. Guests also came from very
far away to support: New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts
and even Puerto Rico!
Afterwards, we all enjoyed the delicious
food donated by Lena Restaurant of the
Bronx and 65th vet Tony de la Rosa Meléndez.
Refreshments were provided by Benny Tirado.
People mingled while they bought merchandise and raffle
tickets. The sales proceeds of which will benefit
the completion of the documentary.
We would like to give our sincere
thanks to our co-sponsors for their support:
New York National Bank, Puerto Rican Legal and Education
Defense Fund, Center of Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter
College and the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.
Many other people helped to make this event a success,
from our speakers to our volunteers to the generous
organizations which donated products or services (see
list below). The Benefit Committee also did a
tremendous job! - sending out invitations, getting
products and services donated, calling people to come
to the benefit, setting up at the theater, working
at the box office, merchandise or raffle table, serving
food and drinks and, of course, cleaning up afterwards.
 |
Benefit Committee: (clockwise) Terry Pacheco, Gil Pacheco, Sonia Martinez Ortiz, Roberto Ortiz, SFC Angel Cordero (Ret.), USA, Miriam Soto Cabrera, Noemi Figueroa and Ray Figueroa. Missing from photo is Maj. Sam Delgado (Ret.), USMC and Jesus Garcia. |
Our special thanks also go to the
attendees who came to the benefit and those individuals
who could not attend but sent their donations anyway
and helped us raise over $5,000 (for the complete
donor list, click on The Supporters).
RAFFLE
PRIZES |
|
- Khury Travel Center, Bronx, NY
- One round-trip ticket to Puerto Rico
- Center of Military History, Washington,
DC - "U.S. Army & the Korean
War" 5-Vol. Book Set &
"U.S. Army & the Korean War"
two 4-CD ROM Sets
- Presidio Press, Novato, CA
- "Puerto Rico's Fighting 65th U.S. Infantry"
2 Books of the NEW Paperback Edition
- Joe's Place, Bronx, NY - Dinner
for Two
- Willie's Steakhouse, Bronx, NY
- Dinner for Two
- La Fonda Restaurant, New York,
NY - Dinner for Two
- Tony Cruz Entertainment - José
Feliciano's "Guitarra Mia" - one
video, CD and DVD
- Men & Women's Designers Outlook,
Bronx, NY - Gift Certificate
- El Pozo Productions - 65th Infantry
T-shirt and cap
|
The publicity generated by the benefit
inspired New York's No.1 Spanish newspaper, El
Diario, to publish an article on Sept. 28th
and The New York Post published another
on Nov. 9th in honor of Veterans Day. |
