Thanks to the experience of Gear VR, donors and major shareholders who met in New York City had a close look at Glasswing’s community projects in Central America.

Glasswing International, a nonprofit organization that empowers individuals to address the root causes of poverty and violence in their communities through education and health programs, held its second annual charity gala in the city of New York The event raised about half a million dollars for children and youth at risk.

During the gala event, Glasswing International used the Samsung Gear VR and the virtual reality experience to transport donors and shareholders to Central America to have a closer look and better understanding of the community projects carried out in these countries.

“Virtual reality (VR) is a particular medium that tricks the brain into believing that it has actually had real-life experience, so VR has been called the last machine that generates empathy.

At Samsung we are willing to boost use of virtual reality beyond entertainment to allow positive changes such as the creation of understanding between people and explain complex scenarios difficult to explain otherwise, as in the case of community programs implemented in difficult contexts around the world, “he explained Nicole Orillac, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung in Central America and the Caribbean.

The gala honored HanesBrands for his remarkable work with the organization in the Community Schools initiative in the last eight years in Central America. Richard A. Noll, CEO of HanesBrands, joined Celina de Sola, Ken Baker, and Diego de Sola, co-founders of Glasswing International, for the event.

More than three hundred guests were welcomed by the founders of Glasswing International, Celinda, and Diego de Sola, and with the words of Richard A. Noll in Tribeca Three Sixty. The highlight of the night was the collection auction for:

• The school’s makeover projects
• After school enrichment programs
• Vocational training for girls
• The medical training projects
• The health clinic equipment
• Clean water

Among some notable guests are: Celina de Sola, Jana Pasquel de Shapiro, Carlos Campos, Phoebe Esteban, Annette Esteban, Fernando García, Hans Neumann, Megan Key, Alexis Zambrano, Andrew Warren, Leslie Sardinias, Alexandra de Sola, Estefanía Lacayo, Gerard Guiu, Mónica Sordo, Claudia Talamás, Michaela Dosamantes, Simon Guindi Cohen, Gustavo Moscoso, Eugenia Miranda, Diego de Sola, Carlos Garciavelez, David Lawrance, Ashley Robbin, Bianca Manley, Flavia Kelson and Maribel Lieberman

Consul General Sandra Marisol Cruz de Flores, Consulate General of El Salvador in New York
Consul General Rolando Enrique Madrigal Gutiérrez, of the Consulate General of Costa Rica in New York
Brit Elise Bailey, Senior Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

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