Wendy Martinez Memorial Fund
Donation protected
****UPDATE*****
As of today (November 13), this site is no longer active for donations. All fundraising efforts have moved to the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Please continue to stay engaged, there is more good work to be done by The Wendy Martinez Legacy Project. https://cfncr.wufoo.com/forms/the-wendy-martinez-legacy-project
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wendy K. Martinez was a daughter, sister, friend, auntie, neighbor, and the person in our lives who reminded us to always have a strategy.
A native Nicaraguan, Wendy started her career supporting fair and transparent electoral processes throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region. Her intimate experience with democracy in developing nations motivated her to pursue a master’s in Latin American studies at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where she particularly focused on Government and Conflict resolution. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Bogota, Colombia to work in international development.
In 2005, she was honored to become a Fellow of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Institute (CHLI) and continued working on social impact initiatives by joining the Inter-American Development Bank, the premiere developing finance institution in Latin America, where she worked on a variety of programs, including strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. This exposure helped her discover her passion for start-ups, which guided her decision to switch careers and evolve to become the Chief of Staff of Fiscal Note.
Wendy continued to invest in and nurture the relationships in her life and had her own plan of how she was going to change the world and all of us were going to help. Now that she's gone home to the ultimate judge, we get to carry on her legacy with a little help from all of her friends.
In her honor, we will create two partnerships:
1. Chureca Chic a Nicaraguan social fashion label focused on teaching women who are survivors of domestic violence. These women often come from the most impoverished communities in Nicaragua and through an apprenticeship program they learn how to make jewelry out of recycled materials and gain the support to improve their lives, families, and communities. With your support, Chureca Chic will be launching a "Wendy Collection" in 2019 that will create more employment opportunities for the women of Nicaragua.
2. Florida Atlantic University - Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College to create a Wendy K. Martinez scholarship fund benefiting Latina women in South Florida pursuing a career in leadership at the university, just as Wendy did.
The Martinez family and Dani Hincapie (Wendy's fiance) have enlisted one of Wendy's DC-based friends and CHLI Board member, Patrice Webb, to act as the beneficiary and issue all donations from this site.
Thank you for helping us celebrate the life of Wendy.
********UPDATE********November 9th, 2018********UPDATE*********
The Martinez Family would like to thank the hundreds of people who were moved to donate in support of Wendy’s legacy. Our dear Wendy left this world suddenly and tragically on September 18, 2018. Despite the intent to extinguish Wendy’s light, we believe that today her spirit is shining brighter than ever. We have seen it in the love and compassion of her friends, church family, in everyone who knew her, and even those who never got the chance to meet her.
In her lifetime, Wendy was a humble leader whose heart beat passionately for taking care of others. Her sense of compassion and love for people was rooted in the Love of Christ. Wendy described herself as a “change maker”; she knew that loving others implied helping change their conditions in a tangible manner.
One of Wendy’s projects was helping Latina women struggling to support their families and realize their dreams. She had charted her life so that she could one day be in a position to substantially give back to this underserved population. It is with great appreciation and happiness that we are able to announce that the gifts you have bestowed upon our family have created an endowed scholarship at Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University. The Wendy K. Martinez Scholarship will be awarded annually to benefit Latina students who demonstrate leadership and a commitment to making a social impact for Latin America and/or Latin American immigrants in the United States.
Additionally, the family is working with Chureca Chic a Nicaraguan social fashion label
focused on empowering women who are survivors of domestic violence. These women often come from the most impoverished communities in Nicaragua, her country of origin, and through an apprenticeship program, they learn how to make jewelry out of recycled materials and gain the support to improve their lives, families, and communities. Because of your support, Chureca Chic will be launching a "Wendy Collection" in 2019 that will create more employment opportunities for these women of Nicaragua, while creating a living legacy of handcrafted jewelry to embody Wendy’s spirit.
These two projects mark the beginning of a legacy that we will continue to build to honor Wendy and her testimony of love and compassion. We are eternally grateful for the support that we have received from each and every donation. Donations are still be accepted and we will continue to update this page.
May God bless you always.
As of today (November 13), this site is no longer active for donations. All fundraising efforts have moved to the Greater Washington Community Foundation. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Please continue to stay engaged, there is more good work to be done by The Wendy Martinez Legacy Project. https://cfncr.wufoo.com/forms/the-wendy-martinez-legacy-project
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wendy K. Martinez was a daughter, sister, friend, auntie, neighbor, and the person in our lives who reminded us to always have a strategy.
A native Nicaraguan, Wendy started her career supporting fair and transparent electoral processes throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region. Her intimate experience with democracy in developing nations motivated her to pursue a master’s in Latin American studies at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where she particularly focused on Government and Conflict resolution. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Bogota, Colombia to work in international development.
In 2005, she was honored to become a Fellow of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leadership Institute (CHLI) and continued working on social impact initiatives by joining the Inter-American Development Bank, the premiere developing finance institution in Latin America, where she worked on a variety of programs, including strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. This exposure helped her discover her passion for start-ups, which guided her decision to switch careers and evolve to become the Chief of Staff of Fiscal Note.
Wendy continued to invest in and nurture the relationships in her life and had her own plan of how she was going to change the world and all of us were going to help. Now that she's gone home to the ultimate judge, we get to carry on her legacy with a little help from all of her friends.
In her honor, we will create two partnerships:
1. Chureca Chic a Nicaraguan social fashion label focused on teaching women who are survivors of domestic violence. These women often come from the most impoverished communities in Nicaragua and through an apprenticeship program they learn how to make jewelry out of recycled materials and gain the support to improve their lives, families, and communities. With your support, Chureca Chic will be launching a "Wendy Collection" in 2019 that will create more employment opportunities for the women of Nicaragua.
2. Florida Atlantic University - Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College to create a Wendy K. Martinez scholarship fund benefiting Latina women in South Florida pursuing a career in leadership at the university, just as Wendy did.
The Martinez family and Dani Hincapie (Wendy's fiance) have enlisted one of Wendy's DC-based friends and CHLI Board member, Patrice Webb, to act as the beneficiary and issue all donations from this site.
Thank you for helping us celebrate the life of Wendy.
********UPDATE********November 9th, 2018********UPDATE*********
The Martinez Family would like to thank the hundreds of people who were moved to donate in support of Wendy’s legacy. Our dear Wendy left this world suddenly and tragically on September 18, 2018. Despite the intent to extinguish Wendy’s light, we believe that today her spirit is shining brighter than ever. We have seen it in the love and compassion of her friends, church family, in everyone who knew her, and even those who never got the chance to meet her.
In her lifetime, Wendy was a humble leader whose heart beat passionately for taking care of others. Her sense of compassion and love for people was rooted in the Love of Christ. Wendy described herself as a “change maker”; she knew that loving others implied helping change their conditions in a tangible manner.
One of Wendy’s projects was helping Latina women struggling to support their families and realize their dreams. She had charted her life so that she could one day be in a position to substantially give back to this underserved population. It is with great appreciation and happiness that we are able to announce that the gifts you have bestowed upon our family have created an endowed scholarship at Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University. The Wendy K. Martinez Scholarship will be awarded annually to benefit Latina students who demonstrate leadership and a commitment to making a social impact for Latin America and/or Latin American immigrants in the United States.
Additionally, the family is working with Chureca Chic a Nicaraguan social fashion label
focused on empowering women who are survivors of domestic violence. These women often come from the most impoverished communities in Nicaragua, her country of origin, and through an apprenticeship program, they learn how to make jewelry out of recycled materials and gain the support to improve their lives, families, and communities. Because of your support, Chureca Chic will be launching a "Wendy Collection" in 2019 that will create more employment opportunities for these women of Nicaragua, while creating a living legacy of handcrafted jewelry to embody Wendy’s spirit.
These two projects mark the beginning of a legacy that we will continue to build to honor Wendy and her testimony of love and compassion. We are eternally grateful for the support that we have received from each and every donation. Donations are still be accepted and we will continue to update this page.
May God bless you always.
Organizer and beneficiary
Lucinda Borque
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
Patrice Webb
Beneficiary