The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) has selected the five individuals and organizations to be honored at the non-profit health and social services provider’s 2017 Awards Gala on April 29th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA. Heading the list of award recipients is Boston philanthropist and businessman Lawrence (Larry) Fish, co-founder of the Fish Family Foundation and a longtime supporter of MAPS. The event will once again be supported and presented by Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners Apres Management Group (the Serpa family), Cafua Management Group (the Cafua family), Couto Management Group (the Couto family) and Riverside Management Group (the Carvalho and Rodrigues families), Diamond level sponsors.
Organized every year to honor extraordinary contributions to the Portuguese-speaking communities of Massachusetts, the MAPS Awards Gala – the agency’s only fundraising event throughout the year – will also honor Father Volmar Scaravelli, Dr. Ana Nava, John B. Cruz III and Project Health CV.
Lawrence Fish is the MAPS 2017 Person of the Year, an award given in recognition of his outstanding financial career, and his steadfast support of MAPS and many other organizations working with immigrant communities – both personally and through the Fish Family Foundation. Mr. Fish worked and lived in Brazil for several years and speaks fluent Portuguese. His continued support has allowed MAPS to assist thousands of immigrants in becoming U.S. citizens. He’s had a long and impressive career in the national and international financial sector, including having served as CEO of Citizens Bank.
The MAPS Jorge Fidalgo Community Service Award will be presented to Father Volmar Scaravelli, Pastor of St. Tarcisius Church, in Framingham. Of Brazilian nationality and the grandson of Italian immigrants, Scaravelli was ordained a priest in 1982, and his ministry initially took him to Argentina, where he started his work with border immigrants on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. During this period, he worked with Pope Francis, when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2012, along with an active Brazilian Community, Scaravelli founded BRACE – the Brazilian American Center, a non-profit organization that provides information and assistance in areas such as education, health, advocacy, legal referrals, sports, dance and exercise classes, job placement and housing assistance to immigrant communities.
Dr. Ana Nava, who has provided critical mental health services for Portuguese speakers in the Cambridge-Somerville area for more than 32 years, will receive the MAPS Mary & Manuel Rogers Lifetime Community Service Award. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the Cambridge Heath Alliance, a Team Leader for the Portuguese Mental Health Clinic located at the East Cambridge Health Center, and provides clinical services at the Outpatient Addiction Services at Central Street in Somerville. Born in the Azores, Portugal, Nava’s own experiences as an immigrant marked her career choices and her continued dedication to the Portuguese-speaking communities. From 2002 to 2007, she was the Director of Clinical Services at MAPS, where she managed and supervised the Domestic Violence, Batterer Intervention, Driver Alcohol Education and Family Services programs.
MAPS will honor John B. Cruz, III, with the MAPS Alvaro Lima Outstanding Business Award. The grandson of first generation immigrants from Cabo Verde, Cruz is the president of Cruz Companies, which includes the John B. Cruz Construction Company, one of the leading minority-owned construction firms in the nation, as well as Cruz Development Corporation and Cruz Management Co. He also serves as president of the Cape Verdean American Business Organization and is president ex-officio of the National Association of Minority Contractors and the Contractors Association of Boston.
MAPS will award Project Health CV with the MAPS Manuel N. Coutinho Oustanding Volunteer Award. The non-profit organization was founded in 2009 by medical staff from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to address, educate, coordinate and provide medical as well as specialized surgical services in Cape Verde. The mission makes yearly visits to Hospital Regional Santiago Norte and Hospital Agostinho Neto with a variety of medical specialists.
“We couldn’t be more excited about our 2017 MAPS Gala Award Recipients,” said Paulo Pinto, MPA, MAPS Executive Director. “It’s an immense privilege to be able to, every year, recognize the outstanding contributions of such dedicated individuals and organizations who, whether it’s through their work or the examples they set, make such a positive impact on our communities.”
The MAPS Awards Gala is a black tie-optional event with an elegant red carpet arrival, banquet, awards ceremony, silent auction, dancing, entertainment and much more. The audience will include more than 400 members and leaders of the Brazilian, Cabo Verdean and Portuguese communities, business owners, elected officials and other health and human service providers. To learn more about the event or MAPS, please visit www.maps-inc.org or call 617-864-7600.
