USA Funds-Sponsored Event Raises More Than $200,000 Toward Latino Student Scholarships

More than 500 leaders from Indiana community, governmental, educational and social organizations gathered in Indianapolis April 10 for an event aimed at raising funds for scholarships to support Indiana Latino students.

USA Funds^® sponsored the event, which raised more than $200,000 toward the Latino Scholarship Fund. The new fund will support multiple organizations that offer scholarships to Latino students in Indiana.

At an event held in January, Carl Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO, announced that USA Funds would issue a challenge grant. The grant matched dollar for dollar — up to a total of $50,000 — contributions to the Latino Scholarship Fund.

The Central Indiana Community Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for the new fund.

“This event has far exceeded our expectations,” said Dalstrom. “The fact that so many came out to support the Latino Scholarship Fund tells me that individuals and organizations truly understand how important it is to raise scholarship dollars for our students, especially minority students. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, and it’s essential to all of us that we help them succeed academically.”

The event featured performances by traditional Latino bands and dancers, as well as a silent auction. Several Latino scholarship recipients were on hand to share their stories and talk with guests.

Among those students was Maria Perez, a freshman at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Perez is the recipient of a scholarship from La Plaza, one of the organizations that the Latino Scholarship Fund will support.

She spoke of the value of education for Latino students and the necessity of scholarship support for students and their families. 

“I applied for many scholarships and had many rejections,” said Perez. “I told my parents it was not going to stop me and that I was going to go to college and make a better life for myself. My parents support me and believe in me, and when I got the letter saying I received a scholarship from LaPlaza I cried tears of joy.”