Washington, DC – The Ambassadors of the Future (AoF) 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and the Hungarian Heritage Foundation of Southern California hosted a benefit Gala on December 15, 2024, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The event successfully raised $5,000 for the Bognár Family Hungarian Scholarship Fund (BFHSF), a project administered by the Hungarian American Coalition (Coalition). Klara Schmitt, HYPE (Hungarian Young Professional Engagement) Co-Founder attended the event on behalf of the Coalition.
Mazzy Eckel; Alexandra Gill; Ádám Béres, President of AoF; Klára Schmitt, Coalition representative/HYPE Co-Founder; Kristóf Vass; and Marcell Kasnyik
Ádám Béres, President and founder of AoF and Co-Founder of the HYPE Network shared how he used his savings while in high school to create AoF to support intellectually gifted but financially challenged students’ international studies. Since its inception eight years ago, the organization has provided over $300,000 in various scholarships.
István Gróf & Krisztina Gróf, Consul General of Hungary to Los Angeles and wife, Ádám Béres, President of Ambassadors of the Future, Tímea Antal, President of Hungarian Heritage Foundation, Susan Pekarovics, Gala Chair of Ambassadors of the future, and Attila Béres, Vice-President of Ambassadors of the Future
Istvan Gróf, Hungarian Consul General for Los Angeles, delivered his welcome speech, expressing support for the cause. Speakers were Julian Gold, Former Mayor of Beverly Hills; Sharona Nazarian, Vice Mayor of Beverly Hills; Tímea Antal, President of the Hungarian Heritage Foundation.
The event also paid tribute to two extraordinary Hungarian-American members of the Los Angeles community, long-time supporters of Ambassadors of the Future, who passed away recently: Dr. George Berci, inventor of the laparoscope, and Dr. Andrew Friedman, attorney and LA county commissioner.
The Ambassadors of the Future awarded Elsa Chahin, President and CEO of Pikler/Lóczy, USA with the inaugural annual Women in Philanthropy award for carrying on the amazing work of Dr. Emmi Pikler, the renowned Hungarian pediatrician who was a trailblazer in the field of infant and toddler education and upbringing.
Kárpátok Dance Ensemble
This organization provided scholarships in the performing arts for young artists in need in partnership with the Hungarian Heritage Foundation of Southern California. They also presented an award to the Kárpátok Dance Ensemble.
The Hungarian Scholarship Fund was established in 1999 by Dr. Béla and April Bognár to help outstanding Hungarian students finish their educations in their own countries or in the United States, and to remain or return to their home countries to provide leadership in their communities. In 2014, the Coalition renamed the fund and took over administrative duties for this program, including fundraising, selecting scholarship recipients and program evaluation.
Since its inception, the scholarship fund has awarded more than $700,000 to 300 Hungarian students in the US and the Carpathian Basin raised from members of the Hungarian American community, churches, organizations, and the Sunshine Lady Foundation (SLF), directed by Mrs. Doris Buffett. Scholarship recipients must have an excellent academic record, outstanding recommendations from teachers, mentors, clergy or community leaders, and a proven financial need.
The Ambassadors of the Future is a registered 501 (c)(3) charitable organization that was formed four years ago by Ádám Béres, along with his parents, Zsuzsa Pekarovics, MD, and Attila Beres, Ph.D., and many other community members in Los Angeles, CA, to encourage young people to participate in philanthropic activities, to foster international student exchanges and to help disadvantaged children coping with diabetes and obesity.