FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2016. Philadelphia, PA. – Esperanza, Inc., a nationally recognized community development organization, was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy in two categories including categories Public/Current/Community Affairs Program/Special & Promotion- News And Program And PSA- Single Spot for the Spanish-language documentary series called, “Historias de Esperanza” (Stories of Hope). “Historias de Esperanza” invites the viewer to reflect on the concept of service to your fellow man, regardless of differences in background or circumstance.
In 2014, Esperanza released the first chapter of the series, a special called “Ayudar es Contagioso” (Helping is Contagious). The piece features two cancer patients from Guadalajara, Mexico, Nora & Juanita, as they wait for life-saving treatment, and a group of doctors from Philadelphia led by Dr. Jesús Esquivel, Medical Director of International Initiatives in Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The story reveals Hispanic medical professionals fighting to restore hope to these patients, motivated by the will to serve those without access to advanced medical care.
“This project is our way of starting sincere conversations about the many important issues that will be covered throughout the documentary series, beginning with the issue of cancer among Latinos, and the lack of access to healthcare due to poverty and marginalization,” says Josue Duarte, Emmy award winning director of “Historias de Esperanza” and Esperanza’s Vice President of Marketing & Media. “We are ecstatic to be among the few self-produced non-profit pieces nominated in these categories.”
Rev. Luis Cortes, Jr., Founder, President and CEO of Esperanza and the Chair of the Hispanic Advisory Board at CTCA states: “Cancer Treatment Centers of America does excellent work in reaching the Hispanic community. We are proud to partner with them to shed some light on the complications Latinos face around the world, including access to lifesaving medical treatment. Esperanza remains dedicated to finding ways to gain access to the resources our community needs in all areas, both right here in North Philly and beyond.”
The Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards presented at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown will be held September 24, 2016.
You can watch “Ayudar es Contagioso” at www.esperanza.us/historias-de-esperanza.
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Esperanza, Inc., is a national, faith-based, Hispanic organization that transforms individuals and empowers communities to change the world, founded in 1986 by Rev. Luis Cortes & the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity. What began as a local initiative, with programs targeted to address the unmet needs of North Philadelphia’s Hispanic community, Esperanza has grown from a small, 20-person operation to a more than 300 employees on a 9-acre campus, and a $40 million annual operating budget. Because of its success in bringing people from poverty to upward mobility and transforming North Philadelphia’s Hunting Park neighborhood, Rev. Cortes is now sought by national and international leaders alike on issues of economic and workforce development, housing, immigration, and education. For more information, please visit www.esperanza.us.