Food For The Poor’s Partner Honored in Honduras for Passion for Helping and Serving Others
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 24, 2024) – Linda Coello, a distinguished humanitarian and the President and Founder of CEPUDO, has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious Valmoral Character of the Year Award for 2024.
The award was formally presented to Coello on Wednesday night during a gala dinner in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
CEPUDO is Food For The Poor’s (FFTP) longtime partner in Honduras. Coello is a member of FFTP’s Board of Directors.
Since 2013, Valmoral, the Honduran Association for the Rescue of Values and Morals, has recognized Hondurans each year who are a model to others because of their commitment to values. Past recipients have been honored for embodying the values of gratitude, tenacity, respect, human sensitivity, and solidarity. For Coello, it is passion.
“When they nominate you for the award, you have to choose a virtue, and I choose passion,” Coello said in an interview. “I asked our staff and my family, and they said passion should be the one.”
Coello said everything she does with her team at CEPUDO is carried out with a passion for helping and serving others.
“‘No’ is not a word in my vocabulary. When I say, ‘yes, I’ll do something,’ I really commit myself to it,” Coello said. “You do it because you love it. If you love something, no matter if it’s a person or thing or maybe your place of work, you have to do it with passion. You can see in each of the members of CEPUDO a passion for what we do in their eyes and actions.”
Coello is the second woman nominated for the award. At a press conference announcing Coello’s nomination last fall, Fouad Faraj, founding president of Valmoral, described Coello as someone who looks after the well-being of the disadvantaged, supporting them in education, health, and food.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award,” Coello said. “This recognition is a testament to the collective efforts of the incredible team at CEPUDO and our invaluable partnership with Food For The Poor. Together, we strive to create positive change and improve the lives of those who need it the most. This award is not just mine; it belongs to everyone who has been a part of our journey.”
In 1998, following the devastating impact of Hurricane Mitch, Coello initiated “Women in Development,” which provided training to single mothers with the aim of helping them acquire resources and assistance to support their families. It is through this program that her life’s project, CEPUDO, was established. Over the years, in partnership with FFTP, its mission has expanded to include providing homes for people living in shacks without water or electricity, building schools, building clinics and additions to hospitals, and providing access to potable water – all thanks to FFTP’s generous donors.
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine extended the charity’s congratulations to Coello.
“Linda Coello’s commitment to alleviating poverty and her tireless efforts in building a better future for the underserved are truly commendable,” Raine said.
“We are proud to have her as a partner in our mission at Food For The Poor,” Raine added. “The Valmoral Person of Character Award is a well-deserved recognition of her character, leadership, and the positive impact she has made on countless lives.”
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]