The Espíritu Award was established in 2001 and is proactively granted
to celebrate, honor and support exemplary work in the Foundation's areas of
interest.
Recipients are selected each fall by the Foundation and its advisors.
Unsolicited requests for an Espíritu Award are not accepted.
A man holds a Chilean flag in a floded are after the 8.8 magnitude
earthquake in Pelluahue, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago,
Sunday Feb 28, 2010.
(AP Photo/Roberto Candia)
On March 4, 2010, I traveled to Santiago, Chile, to participate in
Chile Ayuda a Chile (Chile Helps Chile), a 24-hour television fundraiser
that aimed to raise the equivalent of $30 million for earthquake relief.
Amazingly, it raised $59 million in an incredible effort that united the whole country.
The beneficiaries of the telethon included Un Techo para Chile, Hogar de Cristo,
and Fundación para la Superacion de la Pobreza. These organizations provide housing
for the homeless and other humanitarian aid in a compassionate, accountable,
and efficient manner.
My first impressions of this trip to Chile are posted here.
For the next six months my foundation accepted charitable contributions dedicated
to Chilean earthquake relief. We raised an additional $11,365 and have
distributed these funds to Un Techo para Chile; they in turn have provided shelter
and other humanitarian services to those in need.
When I arrived in Chile I was heartbroken, but now I am hopeful. Chileans
are at their best in times of need. We will recover from the material loss and I
hope that we will remain as generous and united as we were after the earthquake.
