Healthcare Org Toasts to 30 Years of 'Making a Difference' in East End

Daniel Ortiz
Healthcare Org Toasts to 30 Years of 'Making a Difference' in East End

Cyndy Garza Roberts, Stephanie Ramos, Michele Leal Farah, Vicky Dominguez and Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman

WITH A GOAL of ensuring access to quality healthcare for underserved families in Houston’s East End, El Centro de Corazón has been making a difference for 30 years. Its annual Making a Difference luncheon, this year chaired by Vicky Dominguez with honorary chairs Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman and Leila Perrin, raised more than $150,000.


Emceed by Cyndy Garza Roberts, the River Oaks Country Club affair honored Michele Leal Farrah for her commitment to El Centro and similar causes all over Houston. The organization’s CEO, Marcie Mir, thanked supporters and shared why El Centro must still expand its services to reach more Houston residents. Notably, 74 percent of El Centro’s 12,000-plus patients live at or below federal poverty level ($31K annually for a family of four) and more than half are uninsured.

Then Stephanie Ramos gave the keynote address; the ABC News correspondent and Army Reserve Major spoke about channeling inner strength to make a bigger impact.

Andrea Godea, Larry Savala, Amalia Savala

Sippi Khurana and Donae Chramosta

Blanca Lopez, Julie Garza, Hoda Sana

Shelley Ludwick and Elvia Taylor

Elizabeth Ramos, Marcie Mir and Michele Leal

Esmeralda De la Cruz, Lorena Gomez, Vicky Dominguez

Neena Arora, Diana Grair, Kavon Young

Maria Smith, Diana Ospina

Mari Trevino Glass and Cinthya Reade

Evelyn Leightman, George Connelly, Helen Perry

George and Michele Farah

Lisa Wilmore, George Connelly

German Ibañez, Melanie Rodriguez

Linda Flores Olson, Vicki Luna, Graciana Garces, Jorge Gonzalez

Jan Mendenhall, Xochitl Ljuboja, Miriam Zatarain

Jolene Trevino and Vicki Luna

John Cisneros, Marco Perez

Lisa Wilmore, Ed Emmett and Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman

Parties
Fall Philanthropy Report: Children’s Assessment Center Touts ‘Healing’ for Child Abuse Victims

What is your mission? The Children’s Assessment Center (The CAC) provides healing services to over 6,300 child sexual abuse victims and their families each year. We offer forensic interviewing, family advocacy, mental health services, medical care, and court services at no cost. We facilitate community outreach and prevention training to raise awareness about child abuse in our community and how to keep children safe. Last year, we provided prevention training to over 35,000 community members, including 23,500 children in schools.

Keep Reading Show less

ON JAN. 3, 2025, I observed a big personal anniversary. As of that day, it’d been 20 years since I first moved to Houston — from the Big Apple media circus, by way of my home state of Louisiana — and began working as an editor in the lifestyle-magazine biz here. It’s been two full decades, which is hard to believe! I like to joke that I’m far too young and good-looking to have done anything for two decades. But here we are.

Keep Reading Show less

Christopher Salazar stars as troubled-genius chef in the Alley's 'Seared'.

ONE OF HOUSTON'S favorite theater makers — Alley Associate Artistic Director Brandon Weinbrenner — has gotten some delicious news about his latest show. The run of his Seared, a sometimes-funny and sometimes-intense tale of life in the kitchen at a suddenly hot New York restaurant by playright Theresa Rebeck, has been extended beyond its original schedule and will now be up through March 9.

Keep Reading Show less
Food+Travel