Like anything worthwhile, the Maestro Cares Foundation (MCF) was born of the simple desire to help people in need.
In 2011, Zaidy Cárdenas—now Executive Director of the Maestro Cares Foundation—was volunteering at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
Despite limited resources, the orphanage had long provided a safe, nurturing home for young girls. However, an increasing need for the inclusion of young boys at the orphanage could not be met due to a lack of space and funding.
Determined to help, Zaidy visited the boys’ living quarters and found over 40 young boys living in a three-bedroom house with scarce resources. Deeply moved, she turned to her father, Henry Cárdenas, CEO and President of Cárdenas Marketing Network, Inc. Henry then enlisted the support of international music icon and longtime friend Marc Anthony. Their visit with the boys sparked an immediate connection and led to the founding of the Maestro Cares Foundation.
Established in 2012, the Maestro Cares Foundation was created to build homes and schools for disadvantaged children in Latin America and the United States.
The foundation’s first project was the construction of Orfanato Niños de Cristo, a boys’ orphanage in La Romana, Dominican Republic. From the start, MCF focused on essential infrastructure for children including orphanages and schools. Yet over time, the foundation recognized that long-term success required more than buildings—it required holistic, ongoing support. As a result, the Maestro Cares Foundation expanded its approach to include multiple avenues of support.
In 2015, the foundation deepened its commitment to education by launching the Maestro Cares Foundation Scholarship Program.
The goal of the program is to support academically talented, financially disadvantaged Latino/a students, empowering them to pursue higher education and become leaders in their communities. To date, the program has awarded more than 150 academic scholarships to students in Latin America and the United States, upholding its core belief that education is the most powerful tool for breaking the cycle of generational poverty.
By 2018, MCF expanded its grantmaking portfolio to include the construction of community centers—safe spaces where underserved individuals can access therapeutic, academic, and social resources.
These included the Centros de Desarrollo in San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala and Cali, Colombia, and the Tim McCormick Community Center in Chicago, Illinois. These centers help fostered and orphaned children build healthy relationships and achieve their goals of permanency.
In 2022 and 2023, the Maestro Cares Foundation expanded its reach to support children from rural areas who lack access to specialized medical care.
In Santiago, Chile, the foundation funded Casa de Acogida Corporación Renal Infantil Mater, and in Lima, Peru, Albergue Inspira—both of which offer temporary housing for young patients and their families receiving treatment in nearby urban hospitals. Additionally, the foundation helped fund new CAR-T equipment at Fundación Pérez Scremini in Uruguay, giving pediatric cancer patients access to lifesaving, cutting-edge treatments.
While the Maestro Cares Foundation’s outreach has evolved, our mission remains unchanged: to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children and communities in Latin America and the United States. There is still much work to be done—and with your support, we can help transform the children of today into the leaders of tomorrow.
Changing Lives, Building Dreams.
The Maestro Cares Foundation improves the quality of life of disadvantaged children and communities in Latin America and the United States. We do so by providing housing, educational programming, and the essential resources to support their growth and development. Through our efforts, we’re strengthening communities and helping children become tomorrow’s leaders.