Palm Beach, May 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Palm Beach, FL – May 7, 2019 – OLYMPUSAT Inc., one of the largest independent media companies specializing in the ownership, distribution, production and technical services of Spanish and English-language networks, joins forces with Jencarlos Canela, Project HOPE and NATPE to bring humanitarian aid to Venezuelan children with a charity concert at NATPE’s LA Screenings Independents (LASI) Official Welcome Cocktail Party.
“Events like this are remarkable for those who need them most,” said Tom Mohler, CEO of OLYMPUSAT. “It is a small way we can give displaced Venezuelan children hope that we are there for them and stand in solidarity with them.”
Olympusat, Project HOPE, and NATPE will host the benefit featuring one of the most celebrated stars of the Hispanic music industry, songwriter and actor Jencarlos Canela. The LA Screenings Independents Opening Night Party will take place on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 from 6-8 p.m. in the Grand Salon Ballroom at The InterContinental Hotel in Century City.
Jencarlos Canela is an American songwriter and actor of Cuban descent, who has starred in such telenovelas as Más sabe el diablo, among other popular TV series and the television film Jesus Christ. As a songwriter, he began his career as the lead singer of the group Boom Boom Pop. In 2002 he went solo, producing a number of hits including Búscame and Un Nuevo Día, which debuted at No. 1 in 2009 and No. 2 in 2011 respectively. In March 2019 he launched his third single Irremplazable.
“Political uncertainty in Venezuela is contributing to the Western Hemisphere’s worst humanitarian disaster in years. Venezuelans are running out of food and have no means to buy more, hospitals often lack medicines and basic supplies and we are seeing increasingly alarming reports of malnutrition amongst the children of Venezuela,” said Jencarlos Canela.
The LA Screening benefit concert is a response to this crisis. More than 3 million people have fled the country over the past two years to escape a deteriorating economy, a breakdown of social services, rampant crime, medicine and food shortages, increasing malnutrition, prolonged electricity outages and the growing spread of both infectious and vaccine-preventable diseases. Already the largest exodus in Latin American history, some predict by year end, 5.6 million will have left Venezuela, rivaling the scale of the Syrian crisis.
“NATPE and EVENTS TM are excited to have OLYMPUSAT return as the Opening Night Party sponsor supporting such a worthy cause,” said JP Bommel, NATPE President & CEO.
In recent months, the numbers have intensified – it is estimated that as many as 25,000 people are fleeing the country every day. Colombia hosts the vast majority of Venezuelan refugees – more than 1.2 million people – and Project HOPE is on the ground in the border city of Cúcuta, working hard to deliver urgently needed health services and to support local health-care workers.
“Our partnership with OLYMPUSAT is instrumental in shining a light on what is a largely under-reported and under-funded crisis. Our long-term goal is to bolster the health infrastructure in Colombia so that it can protect the health of its own population and, at the same time, meet the health needs of refugees who are coming from a country where the health-care system has all but collapsed,” stated Cinira Baldi, Chief Development and Communications Officer at Project HOPE. “Together, we are bringing health and hope where the need is greatest,” Mrs. Baldi added.
NATPE’s LA Screenings Independents is a partnership between NATPE and Isabella Marquez’s EVENTS TM. Visit NATPE.com or LASI to register.
To learn more about OLYMPUSAT’s industry-leading efforts, please visit olympusat.com.