From the President's Desk

How quickly a year has passed. A year full of rich and abundant experiences, connecting wonderful and professional women while educating themselves by listening to women who, like you and I, want to contribute to the community giving knowledge.

Being president or manager of an entity is a challenge, a responsibility and a way to educate ourselves while continuing education because everything changes, and without forgetting that everyone's eyes are on those of us who run a non-profit entity. Not only do those around us observe the work that is provided, but also government agencies ensure that you work according to the standards and requirements that various agencies require for the faithful compliance of the non-profit and tax-exempt entity.

Taking on a position also requires working as a team, making decisions thinking not only about what is most convenient for the entity but also thinking that the brand image is not affected. Managing an entity also means that people without knowing why certain decisions are made speak without knowing the reasons or comment without going to the person or source that has the correct information. Being with the HAPBWA Foundation has opened a door to a world of possibilities that many are unaware of, but that the community benefits from. As professionals, we do not know everything, but how enriching it is to surround ourselves with people who contribute and add to us so that what is going to be done.

Leading an entity requires dynamism, new ideas, modifying past events, evaluating the course to follow and always looking at a promising future. Our Executive Board has an open door so we welcome suggestions as well as people who donate their time as volunteers. All ideas are welcome, we evaluate them and as a Board we reach a consensus. One of the ideas that we carried out and it was a complete success was the premiere of the movie Barbie in July 2023, so we investigated as a Board how to make it possible, we contacted movie theaters and everything turned out better than we expected. Therefore, know that sometimes the best ideas come from those we least imagine, they are also obtained from connections we make, readings, trips, etc. that we take. What matters is the purpose for which we carry out a project or event.

In our journey we meet women who, due to whatever situation, cannot commit themselves, but they can collaborate for a time or period, so let's also take advantage of those professionals who add value to our entity. There are also women who can contribute financially, but do not have the time to organize, so they are also an asset to our entity.

You are one of these women, I invite you, regardless of the knowledge you have or the monetary contribution you wish to make, to access our website, www.hapbwafoundation.org , and register to donate your time or to make a donation, either in cash. or anything else our community needs. We always count on you as an individual or as a corporation.

Deisamar De Soto-Torres