El Centro’s 17th Annual Making a Difference Luncheon – Thank You!
On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff, and patients of El Centro de Corazón, we would like to thank all our sponsors and attendees for their support of our 17th Annual Making a Difference Luncheon celebrating 30 years of service to Houston’s East End community and surrounding neighborhoods. Your generous contributions are making a difference in the lives of those we serve.
Making a Difference Honorees
Michele Leal Farah
Comerica Bank
Chairpersons
Vicky Dominguez
Honorary Chairpersons
Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman
Leila Perrin
Guest Speakers
Stephanie Ramos
ABC News Correspondent and U.S. Army Reserve Major
Thank You Sponsors
George W. Connelly
• Melinda Hildebrand
• Marek Family Foundation
• Dr. Sippi Khurana.
- • Calpine Corporation
- • Comerica Bank
• Community Health Choice
• John and Vicky Dominguez
• Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman
• Leila Perrin
• Houston Community College
• Michele and George Farah
• The Mir Family
• The Morales Memorial Foundation
• University of Houston
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Trevino Law Firm
• Wild Blue Health Solutions
• Melissa A. Fisher
• Commissioner Adrian Garcia Harris County Precinct 2 and Precinct2gether
• HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast
• John A. and Judy Hutchison
• Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein
• Thomas and Lesha Elsenbrook
• Nancy Mercado & Mike Lopez
• Ramsey Elder
• Debra and Tom Perich
• John Abodeely
• Madyson Chavez
• Sara Dionne
• Nicolas Jimenez
• Amber Mostyn
• Blanca Lopez
• Cynthia Reade
• Rome Street
• Marit Trevino Glass
• Jennifer Chapple
• Carrie Feighl
• Laura Garcia
• Akilah LeBlanc
• Xochitl Ljuboja
• Ginnie McConn
• Jan Mendenhall
• Cherie Schoppa
• Listi Sobba
• Miriam Zatarain
• Francisco + Co
• River Oaks Country Club
El Centro’s CEO, Marcie Mir is delighted to have received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for El Centro’s 30 years of service to the East End community, presented by Frank Gonzalez, Director of Special Projects for U.S. House of Representatives in the office of Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia.
A special thanks to our guest speaker, ABC News Correspondent and US Army Reserve Major, Stephanie Ramos, for her remarks on continuing the legacy and the challenge of making an impact in the Latinx community; and to Cyndy Garza Roberts who once again served as Emcee for the event.
Special thanks to Ellie Francisco + Co., River Oaks Country Club, and to Paper City and Houston City Book Magazines for media coverage of the event.
Photo Credit: Daniel Ortiz
Every year, El Centro’s Making a Difference Luncheon generates funds that are crucial to the development and support of our patient-centered healthcare, dental, and enabling services, and our community engagement, education, and wellness programs to help us realize our mission “to improve the well-being of the communities we serve through quality healthcare services and preventative care.” Over 58% of El Centro patients live at or below 100% of the federal poverty level, which is about $31,000 annually for a family of four, and 54% are uninsured.
El Centro has been a key provider of community and mental health services to Houston’s East End and beyond since opening our doors in 1994. Since becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2003, offering Pediatric Care, Adult Care, Women’s Health, Dental Care, Behavioral Health Services, and Nutrition Counselling, we are a part of the community we serve and remain committed to each patient who walks through our doors. Last year alone, we provided medical, dental, and behavioral health services to over 12,336 individual patients across 47,347 visits and referred many more individuals to vital social services.
