Remember Maria by donating to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund

(Maria on her 6th Bitrhday June 16th 1972)
This Saturday June 16th would have been Maria’s 41st birthday. And while she has left this earth she still remains with us in our hearts and minds. Her caring and giving spirit still endures in the charity she championed for most of her adult life.

As some of you know Maria sponsored underprivileged students from the New York inner city. The organization is The Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF).

The ICSF is an ecumenical, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1971 by the late Terence Cardinal Cooke and a group of prominent executives of all religious beliefs. Its goal is to raise money for the Archdiocesan, inner-city schools in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island to help bridge the gap between tuition charged and the actual cost to educate each student. A couple of key statistics that illustrate both the challenges and great success of the program:

64% of students live at or below the federal poverty level

50% of Inter-City Scholarship Fund students live in single parent homes

99% of students in the Inter-City Scholarship Fund graduate

92% go onto college

These kids are dealt tremendous odds to overcome every single day but somehow they manage, with the help of the ICSF, to endure and keep their dreams of a better life alive. For more details please go to the ICSF website. The link is located on the left hand column of this blog under Maria's Charity.

Currently, there are two students under Maria’s name that we are continuing to sponsor. The goal is to guide and finance these two students through high school (the directed goal of the ICSF). Both are performing well. One, is in high school and the other is in the second grade (Letters from this student and her report card can be seen at the end of this post).

Any amount would be appreciated, as it was a charity that was very important to Maria. The Address and contact info is:

The Inner-City Scholarship Fund.

Attn: Ann Reidy

1011 First Ave.
Suite: 1400
New York, NY
10022-4112

Please make a note that the donation is in dedication to the memory of Maria Helena Salazar. Check can be made out to: The Inner-City Scholarship Fund.

Thank You.

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors

Maria was a lover of all creatures big and small. Growing up in Puerto Rico, from the age of 5-10, Maria was exposed to a myriad of tropical animals and insects. From this she developed a special passion for frogs. The fall before she passed away Maria went to the American Museum of Natural History, a museum she loved, for the last time with our Mom and saw an elaborate exhibit they had on exotic frogs called A Chorus of Colors. Starting May 26th, the exhibit returns to the American Museum of Natural History (see info and link below).

American Museum of Natural History
The Museum is open daily, 10:00 a.m.–5:45 p.m.
To get the most up to date information, please call (212) 769-5100.

http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/frogs/?src=h_h and will run through September 9, 2007.