Fundraising concert featuring Catholic singer/songwriter to benefit Hispanic elementary school students  

DALLAS – This summer, Latin-American, Catholic singer/songwriter Martin Valverde will be featured in a two-night fundraising concert benefiting The Jethsuby Scholarship Fund of The Catholic Foundation.  The event will take place on July 23 and 24, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. at St. Monica’s Catholic Church.  Concert attendees can make a contribution of $15 at the door. 

Funds raised will support scholarships to cover Catholic school tuition for Hispanic elementary students.  Dr. and Mrs. Mauricio Delgado created the endowed designated scholarship fund with The Catholic Foundation in December 2009.
            Martin Valverde has performed internationally and is known for his messages of faith delivered with humor through contemporary music.   Concert organizers anticipate that Valverde will bring in an estimated 1,200 attendees. 

“We are fortunate in having the opportunity to bring Martin Valverde to Dallas to share his message of faith for a cause in which we strongly believe,” said Dr. Delgado.  “This is yet another great opportunity for people to join together and contribute to a significant effort, and have a good time while doing so. I am certain we will continue to have a positive response from the Hispanic community as we join forces to enable more of our children to benefit from an excellent Catholic education.”

The Valverde concert is just one of future fundraising events supporting The Jethsuby Scholarship Fund.  This March, Mexican actor Alberto Mayagoitia performed his one-man show, “Mi Cristo Roto,” at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which raised $25,000 in one night. Dr. Delgado believes the outpouring of support from the Hispanic community was amazing and one small example of the importance Hispanic Catholics place on a Catholic education.  This year, the fund will   award eight elementary students scholarships to attend Catholic schools.  Scholarships will cover up to 50 percent of tuition costs.  The focus of the fund is currently in the Diocese of Dallas, but there is potential for students throughout the state of Texas to be eligible for scholarships in the future.  The application process for the 201-2012 school year is not yet open, but applications will be handled by each school.  Once the application process is open, questions can be directed to the schools.

 Dr. Delgado’s ultimate goal is to raise $1 million over the next two years to establish an endowment that will enable the scholarship fund to continue in perpetuity, providing scholarships from the endowment. The Jethsuby Scholarship Fund is open to donations from anyone interested in helping Hispanic students attend Catholic elementary school.  Donations can be made to The Catholic Foundation, 5310 Harvest Hill Rd., Suite 248, Dallas, TX  75230. 

 Director of neurology at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and professor of neurology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dr. Delgado named the scholarship fund after a child he knew whom he thought would have benefited tremendously from attending Catholic school. A son of Mexican immigrants, Jethsuby died at the age of 11 years in a motor vehicle accident. Dr. and Mrs. Delgado decided to help other children interested in attending Catholic school whose families faced financial obstacles, in honor of Jethsuby.   

The Catholic Foundation works with families and individuals interested in starting donor-advised funds, named or otherwise, to benefit their communities today and for future generations.  The Catholic Foundation granted a total of $2.5 million to over 275 different organizations in 2009 through donor-advised restricted funds. 

Chartered in 1955 by a group of dedicated Catholic laymen, The Catholic Foundation is a donor-focused community foundation that guides benefactors in compassionate charitable giving endeavors, utilizing extensive expertise to carry out the various philanthropic goals of its donors.  The Foundation’s planned giving programs connects donors directly with organizations they wish to support within the Diocese of Dallas and elsewhere, whether that is a home parish, Catholic school or a community-based charity.  Thanks to the generosity of donors both past and present, The Foundation has provided approximately $24 million to local organizations through hundreds of grants over the past 54 years, and donor-advised funds maintained at the Foundation have accounted for even more grants amounting to millions of dollars.   For additional information, please contact The Catholic Foundation at 972/661-9792 or visit www.catholicfoundation.com.

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