Winner Agustina Blanco

Mónica Etchegaray recibe el Premio HelpArgentina Embajadores Sociales en nombre de su hija Agustina Blanco. "If your goal is to create more impact and motivate more people to initiate or continue a social initiative, you are definately accomplishing it", says Agustina.

Agustina Blanco was born in 1968. She is Argentine with American citizenship, and has lived in the US since 1990. She has a Masters in Education and International Politics. She is the author of the book "La Escuela Protagonista." Agustina, together with Constanza Nogueira, initiated educational reform of the academics in a rural school in Las Lomitas, in the province of Formosa, an area with very limited resources.

The initiative includes: trips to Formosa to train teachers(3 times), preparation and design of the academic program, the donation of over $5,000USD worth books for the library. Furthermore, she has designated an academic coordinator for the school. Right now she is raising funds for a total of $50,000USD for the construction of a sports wing in the school, along with a dining hall. This work is continuous and requires much dedication and preparation. The contact with the school was made through two priests, Patricio Greham and Francisco Nazar, who asked Augustina to collaborate. The work has had a low profile and hasn´t received attention through other means.

Agustina's mom, Mónica Etchegaray, received the engraved plaque on her behalf. When Agustina found out the news, she wrote to us: "I was so excited to receive the news...if your goal is to create more impact and motivate more people to start or continue a social initiative, you are definately accomplishing it. I assure you that things like last night's event give us a big push."