Manuel Candamo Memorial Scholarship Awards Luncheon
Since its inception in 2006, the Manuel Candamo Memorial Scholarship Fund has raised over $100,000 and with the inclusion of the 2010 awards, will have awarded over $40,000 in college scholarships to Puerto Rican students.
Manuel Candamo - Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Manuel wore a permanent smile and lived life to its fullest with the attitude that "this has a solution."
Manuel was an excellent student, and for a time was the fastest reader in Puerto Rico. After the death of his parents, he could not afford to finish college. He joined the United States Air Force and served with distinction in the intelligence field, earning numerous medals, finishing his college degree, and traveling throughout the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.
Upon living the service, Manuel became an entrepreneur. His boundless curiosity and passion for improving the lives of others, led him to work on amazing projects that include robotics, fusion, nanotechnology, and tele-medicine. Manuel was particularly excited about projects that would benefit his beloved Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries. Through it all, Manuel was the ultimate "connector." He kept in touch with childhood friends, and easily made new ones in every place he visited. He was good at connecting people because he believed in the power of the individual. For Manuel, it was easy to convince people to join his quest and to assist the community in facing new challenges through his innovative approach of problem -solving. His consistent support of the Hispanic College Fund and the Latino Economic Development Corporation of Washington, D.C. and other organizations, is a testament of Manuel's belief that developing the individual empowers an entire community.
After Manuel's unexpected death from cancer in 2006 at age 45, his family and friends established two funds in his honor: The Manuel Candamo Memorial Scholarship at the Hispanic College Fund and the Fondo Manuel "Felo" Candamo at the Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico.
To continue Manuel's work, these funds will support:
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Mentoring programs and college scholarships for Puerto Rican students committed to making an enduring contribution to their families and their communities
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Non-profit organizations that foster community development and entrepreneurship as a means of building empowerment and economic independence
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Non-profit organizations that provide cancer care or research, as cancer claimed the lives of Manuel's mother, his older sister, and finally, of Manuel himself.