The President's Message

Fernando G. Rosa

As I assume the presidency of the Portuguese Foundation, Inc. (PFI), I continue the journey that was started in 1990 with the formation of the organization.

A significant portion of PFI's success has been due to major funding from organizations such as the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, which has been a supporter since 1997, and the JB. Fernandes Memorial Trust. These two organizations have become the major sources of income for our annual scholarship program.

In addition, PFI has also received a high level of support from Francisco G. Rosa, a senior executive with Kraft and Schuland in London, and from the Rosa Simao Scholarship Funds.

Along the way, many other major contributors have come to assist, including the Hartford Courant Foundation, the Aetna Foundation, CL & P, the Dos Santos Family, Maria, Esperanca Mendes, Jose and Rosemary Oliveira of H&L Package Store and many others.

And the Foundation has also benefitted tremendously from many, many small donations.

To all who have contributed, may I express the sincere gratitude of the Board. We can all look back with pride. Since its inception, PFI has distributed over $100,000 in scholarships to 61 deserving students.

Looking forward, we plan to continue the work we began over a decade. With your help, we will continue to identify and assist deserving students of Portuguese descent throughout Connecticut.

As we all know, education is expensive, but ignorance is intolerable.

We continue to look for additional donors and endowments. Whatever you can do will be greatly appreciated as a lasting contribution to the intellectual enrichment of our community.