Welcome to Esperanza
Exciting News! Bill Davis's Autobiography is Published!
In Service to Justice: Striving to Bring Forth Our Nobility
Link to Book
An account of a life framed by family, faith, and service, In Service to Justice is a part spiritual and part adventure story. Following Bill from the hills of eastern Kentucky, one man goes on a quest to improve justice in Kentucky, California, Latin America, and the Middle East. With each page, we are forced to look inward and reflect on our own virtues and how we stack up compared to others. Click on Link to Book above to read more!
Esperanza has achieved its goal!
After much reflection and a successful 10 years of promoting our mission,
we have decided to bring to a close the sponsorship of the golf tournament and symposium.
With many generous contributions, we were able to provide 44 scholarships to students in
their pursuit of higher education. In 2022, we were also able to provide
support for Ukrainian refugees!
Esperanza Foundation
Esperanza Inc is a public charity organization that was founded in 2013 by members of the Davis family. The name of the entity is Esperanza which means “hope” in Spanish. The foundation was formed to assist young people who are seeking to acquire the skills and values necessary to be productive and outstanding individuals devoted to serving their communities. The Foundation goals include developing and assisting in self-sustaining activities for individuals as well as communities. The mission of the organization is to promote human development, support aspiring students in their efforts to obtain higher education and educate the community on critical issues of the day affecting them and the world around them.Esperanza grew out of the Davis Family support for indigenous (Pehuenche) students in southern Chile to study law. To date, three students have graduated from law school and one has been admitted to the practice of law. In addition, the Davis family has worked closely with a remarkable Pehuenche woman who is dedicated to improving the quality of life and incomes of Pehuenche living in the Andes, through the development of hot houses for organic produce, the production of woven products for sale, and the introduction of new types of wool producing sheep.
On a local basis, the Foundation board members, after consulting with the principal of Portola High School, in Portola, California, identified the need to assist high school students with funds for college. Portola is located in Plumas County and is one of the poorest counties in California. The closing of a major railroad center, combined with a decline in the lumber industry, have created high levels of unemployment and a stagnant economy. Bill Davis could see the effects while driving through this small town; it looked very much like Eastern Kentucky, where he was raised.
The Esperanza Foundation (www.EsperanzaFoundation.org), founded in 2010, supported high school graduates in taking their next steps either to college or to the trades. We named our scholarships after Connee Davis’ father, John Shrawder, who had been a professor at Sacramento State in environmental studies. We wanted to encourage students to return to this area and devote themselves to promoting environmental studies. John was a park ranger, a conservationist in the 1960’s and 70’s working for the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. In the 1970’s he began teaching at Sacramento State classes on environmental studies. He deeply loved the High Sierra and taught his daughter and son, Jack, the same affection.
At the same time, Bill had been considering starting a golf tournament for friends from around the country to enjoy this remarkable region of the world. Bill wanted to do something quite different with our tournament. It seemed to me that creating an opportunity to have meaningful conversations on the key topics of the day was a worthwhile goal. Further, because nowadays it appears that everyone is trying to sell or advocate a particular position, delving into the complex issues of the day has become increasingly difficult. So he organized a unique event called the High Sierra Spring Golf Classic, inviting friends to engage in lively conversation, a golf tournament, and a symposium. We also held a fundraising auction to raise money for scholarships for local kids at Portola High School.
In the community of Portola, fundraisers pop up all the time for different causes. We did not want to compete with the modest funds available for local causes, so we wanted to have an event with visitors from outside the community. Our friends from Half Moon Bay, Stanford, San Francisco, Oakland, Davis, North Carolina, Sacramento, Dallas, Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and Chicago, as well as residents of Whitehawk Ranch, became the primary sources of funds for the Esperanza Scholarships.
From Bill and Connee’s twenty-five years of travels all over the world, they had accumulated many rugs, woven items, art, and the like, which we auctioned off to these friends and colleagues to raise funds for the scholarships. In six years, our Foundation gave out 32 scholarships, totaling over $120,000.
Esperanza Inc is a 509(a)(2) tax exempt, public charity, not-for-profit entity with no political affiliation or political agenda. The Foundation seeks to create educational opportunities for communities and individuals to become informed about the challenges we face in this ever complex and sometimes conflictive world.
Beginning in 2014 Esperanza Foundation sponsored symposiums on timely topics to inform the public and participants in the High Sierra Spring Golf Classic. The principle underlying the seminars is the independent investigation of the truth. Esperanza Foundation does not advocate positions - rather we seek to identify recognized experts in fields of interest and invite them to make presentations to our audiences. Believing an informed public is critical to the wellbeing of democracy.
We are finding it increasingly difficult for the public to find sources of information that are independent from an advocacy position. The news media and the internet seem to be dominated by groups seeking to convince the public of an ideological position on every topic. While we don’t pretend to be without our own values and concerns, we strive to identify topics and presenters to challenge popular assumptions, inform on background matters and or explore topics of high national interest.
Over the next 7 years, Esperanza Foundation sponsored symposiums including timely topics on Russia and Ukraine, Isis, Medicare, Is Democracy Dying?, Race Relations and the Middle East.
After much reflection and a successful 10 years of promoting our mission, we have decided to bring to a close the sponsorship of the golf tournament and symposium. With many generous contributions, we were able to provide 44 scholarships to students in their pursuit of higher education. In 2022, we were also able to provide support for Ukrainian refugees.
Bill and family are very grateful for the contributions that were made and the scholarships that have been provided and want to thank all those who supported the Foundation over the years.
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Esperanza Inc is a 509(a)2 nonprofit, public charity organization that was founded in 2013 by members of the Davis family. Esperanza was formed to assist young people who are seeking to acquire the skills and values necessary to be productive and outstanding individuals devoted to serving their communities.
The organization goals include developing and assisting in self-sustaining activities for individuals as well as communities. The mission of the organization is to promote human development, support aspiring students in their efforts to obtain higher education and educate the community on critical issues of the day affecting them and the world around them.
