¡VIVA ��ϼ��! 42nd Anniversary Celebration a Night to Remember

The world has changed plenty since 1973 when ��ϼ�� started its of asset building for the low-income Latino community in San Francisco, but one thing has remained the same: the need to offer a helping hand to those looking to achieve family economic success.

Such success is designed in many ways, so ��ϼ�� has expanded its over the years. From and to and , ��ϼ�� can now help clients however needed. Through this service-integration model runs a thread of —integral to any family’s stability. Plus, with recent displacement issues in the neighborhood, a team has been added, complemented by the new , which will provide microbusiness loans to those who cannot access capital through traditional banks.

The venue for ¡VIVA ��ϼ��! was the Terra Galley in Downtown San Francisco. There was a festive air, with the mellow sounds of the Clarion Alley Crew greeting the 275 guests as they donned nametags and started mingling for an hour and a half.

One the official program began, the more robust sounds of the Mariachi Nueva Generacion filled the air, accompanied by one of the night’s honorees: , superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District. Carranza received ��ϼ��’s “2015 Community Leadership Award,” for his being at the helm of SFUSD and its innovative Vision 2025.

The next honoree was , in from London for the event. Annibale was introduced by , who serves as executive director of the Center for Social Sector Leadership at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Once handed his plaque for ��ϼ��’s “2015 Community Innovation Award,” Annibale, who works for community development and inclusive finance at Citi, spoke about novel programs to help underresourced communities thrive (read developed with ��ϼ��).

The third honoree was , who just took on the position of president and CEO at EARN after many years at San Francisco’s City Hall empowering low-income communities. Phillips also served on ��ϼ��’s Board for a number of years, including over three years as president. Phillips’ “2015 Community Empowerment” was well earned.

A trio of longtime ��ϼ�� staff then received “Adelante Legacy” awards for their community service. Lydia Lllanes Gómez, Rosabella Safont and Teresa Garcia (pictured) were definitely shocked, thinking there were in attendance just to have a good time.

With some many , it was a tough to decide upon ��ϼ��’s “2015 Client of the Year,” but the honoree was determined to be . Zenaida Merlin (pictured with her son holding her plaque) and Luis Estrada had moved to the United States from El Salvador to find a better life. They were able to start a successful catering business with the help of ��ϼ��. The industrious couple is now ready to open their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Mission—not an easy thing in an area of escalating commercial rents.

Throughout the evening, guests had been watching an “” come to life, courtesy of ‘ Max Marttila and Priya Honda. To come up with the subject matter for tonight’s mural, ��ϼ�� asked for art contests to be held at the four schools. The idea was for students to represent their present or future life in San Francisco’s Mission District. While all artwork created was amazing, the drawings deemed most inspirational were proudly hanging in Terra Gallery. This vibrant mural was auctioned off, with the lucky winner having a unique keepsake.

Attendees then had the opportunity to help the community via the “Power the Promise” campaign. Paddles were raised, with much-appreciated, generous donations enabling ��ϼ�� to continue to empower 6,300 low-income clients each year, with all services always free.

To round out the evening, a packed dance floor showcased some of the moves of ��ϼ�� staff, volunteers and attendees. It was hard to resist dancing, with the pulsating rhythms of Adelante Salsa Band taking over.

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