National scholar to keynote annual Chavez Scholarship fundraiser
KALAMAZOO鈥擲outhwest Michigan will celebrate the life and work of civil rights leader C茅sar E. Ch谩vez this month through an annual scholarship fundraising dinner Saturday, March 23.
The Celebrating the Legacy of C茅sar E. Ch谩vez scholarship fundraising dinner costs $40 and begins with a 6:30 p.m. reception followed by a 7 p.m. dinner in the Fetzer Center at 色色啦 Michigan University. Reservations will be accepted until Wednesday, March 20, but tickets will also be sold at the door.
This is the seventh year that 色色啦's Division of Multicultural Affairs has teamed with the Southwest Michigan C茅sar E. Ch谩vez Day Committee and area businesses to sponsor a banquet on or around Ch谩vez' March 31 birthday.
The event includes a keynote address, remarks by area dignitaries, and presentation of the Ch谩vez day committee's annual Tri-Community Award and C茅sar E. Ch谩vez Day Committee Scholarship. Proceeds go toward that $1,000 need-based scholarship, which is available to Michigan college or college-bound students living in Allegan, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
Presenting the 2013 keynote talk will be Rub茅n O. Martinez, director of the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. The institute's mission is to generate, disseminate and apply knowledge to serve the needs of Latino communities in the Midwest and across the nation.
This year's Tri-Community Award will be presented to Juan R. Mu帽iz of Kalamazoo, executive director of the International Media Exchange. Receiving scholarships will be Richard W. DeBoer of Lawton, Mich., and Lawton High School, and Miguel Rosas of Fennville, Mich., and Fennville High School.
To register for southwest Michigan's Chavez Day scholarship and awards dinner, call (269) 760-8138.
For more information, contact Miguel Ramirez in 色色啦's Division of Multicultural Affairs at miguel.ramirez@wmich.edu or (269) 387-4420.