Are you the kind of person to make New Year’s resolutions? If you do, I imagine that like most of us, you resolve to do things like break bad habits, eat healthier, work out more, or make other changes to your lifestyle. It seems to me that New Year’s resolutions are in large part about taking control of the few things we can control, like our attitudes, our behaviors, and even our futures.
Even so, many of us aren’t very good about sticking to our resolutions, and there are many aspects of our lives that are beyond our control. Our best-laid plans are subject to all kinds of unexpected influences. Knowing this, Esperanza’s resolution for 2012 is simple: To follow God’s leading both in success and in facing and overcoming obstacles. If our commitment to our mission remains unwavering, and we trust that God is leading us forward according to His purposes, then we can move with confidence through the ups and downs of a new year.
As you well know, for the past five years we’ve been trying to expand our educational institutions, so we can make a difference in the lives of more young people. Although our local bureaucracies have consistently denied us the opportunity to grow, we have recently taken some important incremental steps:
- Within the next couple of weeks, we will open a 6th grade with a small group of students, with the intent to continue adding middle school grades each year.
- We’ll find out soon if we’ve been approved to operate a K-12 cyber charter school. This school would be a hybrid of online education and the support of physical learning centers, and would provide another educational alternative for students who could benefit from a nontraditional school setting.
- We’ve also been blessed to receive attention from wealthy venture capitalists who have expressed interest in investing to help us grow. They recognize that our success with Hispanic and other minority students is rare, and could serve as a model for replication across the country. We’re excited to see where these conversations will go!
Beyond our core work in education, we’re still working hard on a variety of other issues that are important to the Hispanic community in the United States. We’re working on environmental education and sustainability programs with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. We’re working with a large evangelical coalition to create momentum around the immigration reform conversation. We’re working with 10 churches in Washington, D.C. and Wal-Mart to expand the reach of food pantries to meet hunger and nutrition needs, and with nonprofits around the country to develop strong mentoring programs for Hispanic youth. Funding from Wells Fargo is supplementing our activities as a national HUD intermediary, allowing us to help build 9 additional housing counseling agencies around the country. Our arts and music subsidiary, AMLA, has begun its 2012 jazz concert series, and we’re beginning to plan several special events for the fall.
And in each and every one of these areas of work, we are keeping our 2012 New Year’s resolution in mind: To persist and to strive for excellence, but above all to trust the God who has carried out His purposes through us every year for the past 24 years of our work. I pray the same for you, the faithful friends and supporters of Esperanza.In Christ's name,
The Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr.
President
Esperanza
