Elizabeth Echt and Madeleine Chen. Photography by Jessica Turner.
The Hockaday students behind the nonprofit Visions for Confidence have been busy over the past few months.
Co-founders Madeleine Chen and Elizabeth Echt have used money they’ve raised through various avenues to provide scholarships for individuals pursuing the fine arts.
They donated $2,500 to an organization called Rays of Light, which provides respite care to families of children with special needs. Chen and a few others spent a day teaching some of the girls dances.
And most recently, Visions for Confidence sponsored a woman named Gabi Roller, who will use the money to go to New York and begin pursuing a career in dance.
Visions for Confidence is now planning an event for May. The team hopes to invite performers from across DFW to showcase their talents in the fine arts. They also want to open the event up to the public and donors.
In April, Chen, Echt, Ariana Wang and Kaelyn Lee will head to the University of Delaware for the finals of the Diamond Challenge competition. They presented a business plan for the social innovation category and have advanced along with just over 60 teams to the final round. Cash prizes are awarded to the top three winners of the competition.
“Communication has been the biggest part of being able to create new connections and help others create new connections,” Chen says. “I think that all came together with being able to create a community where we all share the same love for fine arts.”
