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Last Saturday the 19th of January 2019, Casa Grande opened its doors once again for its traditional annual fundraising event Magical Splendor Gala 2019 on behalf of Fundación MIR, as we entered we were greeted with a chorus of “Buenas Noches” by the smiling and adorable faces of the children of the MIR schools – we knew it was going to be an outstanding evening. The attendees had the opportunity to witness the power of love, solidarity and above all, the opportunities that are given to the low-income youngsters of La Romana because of a good education.
Guests were treated to an array of options for the cocktail hour, from champagne to Ron Atlantic cocktails, there was even a professional cigar roller. Whilst we mingled, and greeted our way through the first portion of the evening, the “Mysterious Wall”, one of the prime fundraising aspects of the event with extravagant surprises at only US$200 a box quickly sold out!
As we took our seats for a delicious dinner catered by Casa de Campo the evening’s emcee, Renata Soñé welcomed first Alfy Fanjul, followed by Lian Fanjul de Azqueta, founder of the Fundación MIR and Lyanne Azqueta, Vice President of MIR Charities to the stage. “We want to thank all of you for being here, for all the support you give us year after year. We are proud of the work and effort of our students and each of their achievements. But none of this would have been possible without the generosity, without the input, without the support of all of you. We are the chance that our children have to go up and help them to be better.” stated Lyanne.
Photo by Bryan de la Cruz
Then the children of the Fundación MIR presented Raysa Fanjul, the evening’s hostess with flowers, who responded with a brief yet heartfelt “Thank you, thank you to you all” and the show got underway. The evening featured an exclusive presentation of the Spring / Summer 2019 collection by the prominent designer Naeem Khan. He is known for his ornate and intricately detailed gowns and for dressing personalities such as Michelle Obama, Queen Noor of Jordan, The Duchess of Cambridge; Kate Middleton and celebrities as Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood and Mandy Moore.
For more than 25 years, Fundación MIR has promoted extensive education and health programs in its vocational schools for girls and for boys. Each year they continue to grow, both for their students to have a higher education and for their graduates to have a better position in the labor market.
Our congratulations to Alfy and Raysa Fanjul, Lian Fanjul de Azqueta, Lyanne Azqueta, and the entire Fundación MIR team for once again going above and beyond putting together another Gala to remember! The following gallery of pictures were taken on Saturday, January 13th at the Fundación MIR Magical Splendor Gala by Wilfredo Álvarez:
By Bryan de la Cruz
and by Agustín Fernández
The Fundación MIR is a non-profit organization which works to provide education to the children of the greater La Romana area, who are most in need. They run 3 schools; the MIR Esperanza (boys vocational school), the Escuela Técnica Vocacional Fundación MIR (girls vocational school) and the Primaria MIR (infants school).
For more information on the Fundación MIR and to make a donation, visit their website: www.mirinternational.org
To make a donation contact the MIR office in Casa de Campo (809-523-8270) or in West Palm Beach (561-366-5095). Donations are tax deductible for US Citizens!
To find out more and see photos and articles of events organized by the Fundación MIR – click here!
