July

July, 2006

Dear Members,

It is exciting to be part of this third quarter newsletter. I am delighted to share the accomplishments at the coalition during the last few months. We have undergone our yearly audit, we have met with our granting agencies, we have been carefully analyzing our budget for the coming fiscal year, and our project of producing 40,000 copies of our bilingual directory is well on its way. In particular, I hereby want to thank our student intern from New College of Florida, Anita Tambay for all her initiative and enthusiasm. She has exceeded all expectations.

The end of our fiscal year quickly approaches and a time for elections is just around the corner. You will enjoy meeting our present board members as you read on. Everyone has expressed an interest in continuing to serve in the incoming year of 2006-2007. However, we still have seats available. If you or someone you know is interested in being included in the slate of candidates, we urge to submit your nominees ASAP. Nominations will end sixty days prior to elections in September, which will be July 31st, 2006.

Make sure you save the date for September 30! Hispanic Heritage Month eagerly awaits our first Annual Fundraiser, The Hispanic Latino Festival at the Downtown Lemon Avenue Mall from 5 PM until midnight. More details to come. We hope to see everyone there. Please feel free to write or call with any comments and feedback on any of our events and projects.

I hope to see all of you at our next General Meeting in August…

Sincerely,

Estela Curiel

President

President, Estela Curiel. Presently working as Hispanic Achievers Director at the Sarasota Family YMCA. Estela, originally from Mexico City, has worked at the YMCA for one year and was previously a school director and educator in the Sarasota school system since 1992. Estela had also served on a charter school board in 2000 and was a business owner for almost five years on Longboat Key.

Vice-President, Adriana Robledo, is an Adult ESOL Teacher at Sarasota County Technical Institute. She’s worked there since 1994. She has a psychology degree from her native country of Colombia and a Masters in Educational Leadership from USF. Adriana has been involved with the Hispanic Latino Coalition since it was formed in 1999.

Education & Youth Committee Chair, Yvonne Bras. Presently working as Director of Membership Services for Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Yvonne hails from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Born in Hawaii, Yvonne has spent 8 years working with Girl Scouts in Florida, and now oversees operations in 10 counties. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Foreign Language from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. She has been involved with the Coalition for 5 years and is driven by her efforts to ensure that the voices of Hispanic youth are never neglected.

Resources Committee Chair, Frank Lopez. Frank has a degree in marketing from Pace University. He is a retired executive from IBM and serves on two other boards in Sarasota. Frank, originally from Spain and raised in New York, has lived in this area for 12 years. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is fueled in his involvement with the Coalition by of his desire to help fellow Hispanics.

Health Committee Chair, Jeanie Ocasio McLain. Jeanie Ocasio-McLain is the Director of Victim Advocacy for SPARCC, Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center. She is responsible for the provision domestic violence victim services for SPARCC in the Sarasota, Venice, and Arcadia. In May of 2006, Jeanie was awarded the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) Above and Beyond Award for her work with victims of domestic violence and the development of the Hispanic/Latino outreach program for SPARCC.

Jim Sartori, of Italian descent, originally from California. Retired business owner of 30 years from the Pharmaceutical Industry, presently Jim serves on two other boards in Sarasota. Jim graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in pharmacy. He went on to get a Masters from the University of California in finance, and a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania in international business. Jim is fluent in Portuguese. As President and CEO, Jim just sold a company that specialized in clean-room environment (designing, building, and supplying hospital suites). His primary interest in the Coalition is in making the transition for the most recent immigrants as painless and fluid as possible so that they may become useful members of society.

Juanita Curiel, originally from Mexico. Juanita is a parent of five children, a grandmother, and a business co-owner with her husband of a Construction Company in Sarasota. Juanita has lived in this area for several years and has been a Hispanic community advocate and leader. Juanita is presently going to school to pursue a degree in nursing.

Originally from Argentina, Dora Limoncelli is a mental health counselor for Catholic Charities. She received a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from the University of South Florida. Dora has been involved with the Hispanic / Latino Coalition for two years, and serves on the Health and Education Committees. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Directories- Our most important project of the year, the production of our Bilingual Directory, is in full swing! This is our first year charging agencies to be listed in the directory. As we speak, our office staff is working to improve and update the little blue book. As a friend of the Coalition, please do your part in selling advertisements in the directory. Your efforts will benefit not only the Coalition, but the greater community as well. We appreciate all your help!

Employment Opportunities–

·SPARCC has an immediate job opening for a full-time Rape Advocate. Must be computer literate, fluent in English and Spanish, and be able to work in high energy environment. Call 365-0208 for more information.

·Sarasota Chiropractic Office is seeking an office coordinator. Must be bilingual and have multi-tasking skills. Duties include insurance billing, patient interaction, and scheduling. Call 922-9312 or fax resume to 927-8731.

·St. Jude Catholic Church is looking for a full-time office manager. Must be bilingual and have bookkeeping and office management experience (with Quick Books preferred). Fax resume to (941) 365-4760 or

pastor@st-jude-parish.org.

Congratulations!

In May,Ocasio-McLain,of Victim AdvocacySPARCC (Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center) was honored at theCoalition Against Domestic ViolenceConference. Jeanie Ocasio-McLain accepted the Above and Beyond Award, presented annually to oneadvocate in the state who demonstrates exceptional advocacy, commitment, professionalism, and dedication to the battered women’s movement.was nominated by her Executive Director, Stephanie Woods,for her work with SPARCC outreach to Hispanic/ Latina victims.

You will be missed...

BJ Branson has retired from the City of Sarasota HumanBoard.She has been a supportiveof our Coalition.She was actively involved with the Resource Committee and volunteered to help us with events when ever she could.We will miss her valuable collaboration.We hope she considers the possibility to come back as an individual member of our Coalition in the near future.B.J.:

We thank you and wish you the best always!

From June 25 to July 1, 2006, Mike Fehily attended the “XIV Seminario Taller Nacional de Formacion en Educacion Para Jovenes y Adultos” (XIV National Workshop/Seminar for the Continuing Education of Youth and Adults) in the beautiful city of Patzcuaro, State of Michocan, Mexico to learn about establishing a “Plaza Comunitaria” (learning center) here in Sarasota.

This was an intensive 5-day session from 9am-7pm each day and was attended by 88 fellow participants from Oregon to Miami. The sessions aimed to address a study by the Brookings Institution which indicated the Sarasota/Manatee Counties have the ninth fastest percentage growth of Hispanics, 38% from 2000-2005, in the United States. The 2005 census figures show the Hispanic population at about 56,000 for these two counties.

In order to better serve this growing Hispanic demographic, the idea of a “Plaza Comunitaria” was developed. The main objective of the Plaza is to allow access to a Mexican Basic education, Computer skills learning, Accreditation and Certification, and English as a Second Language. The Plaza can also offer continuing education programs for the “Bachillerato” (College Preparatory studies) and general adult education for life and work.

The Mexican Government, through its Educational Institutions, provides all of the software and access to the entire curriculum, testing, media materials and the training of the directors and tutors. There are about 300 of these Plazas Comunitarias currently operating around the United States. In the near future we hope to discuss the feasibility of establishing a “Plaza Comunitaria” in our community with guidance from the Mexican Consulate in Orlando.

April 7. Artist’s Reception of Embracing Our Differences was attended by Adriana Robledo and Estela Curiel.

April 8. Special Session of Diversity Training. Embracing Our Differences and SCOPE’S Coalition for Inclusion and Diversity (CID) have formed a community-based volunteer corps to offer the “changing the World: One Friendship at a Time” diversity training program in Sarasota and Manateee counties.

April 11, Adriana Robledo participated in the second session of the Literacy Summit. A Literacy Summit group continues to meet in order to work together.

May 4. Adriana Robledo represented the Hispanic Latino Coalition on the panel of the Sarasota Openly Against Racism (SOAR) Symposium that took place at the Van Wezel on May 4. Her presentation included a brief explanation about our Coalition and addressed our support of having much needed immigration reform.

May 25. The Hispanic Latino Coalition participated in the first Latino Power Lunch offered by the Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce. The keynote speaker was Luis Eduardo Baron who made an excellent presentation entitled– Hispanics: Facts, Myths, and Realities.

May 26- The Cultural Competency Training session, hosted by the Hispanic Latino Coalition, was held at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in the Hamme Conference Center. The training was conducted by Edna Apostol, MPH, of the Gulfcoast South Area Health Education Center, Inc. Ms. Apostol used a slide presentation, which she printed for each participant to be used as a take-home guide.

Fifteen members of the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Community attended.The information offered in the presentation will be helpful in dealing with Hispanic families as well as bringing advocacy to the workplace. It will help others bring better health care for their students and clients and bring greater understanding to those providing ESOL services to a broad client base. In addition it helps in “business to business” transactions.

The Coalition hopes to parlay this success into a new project: Teen Cultural Competency Training.

June 9. The Hispanic Latino Coalition was represented at SCOPE’s 2006 Annual Event at the Flanzer Jewish Community Center. The event highlighted the accomplishments and future projects of SCOPE.

June 15, 16, & 17- The “Our Cultural Connections” Festival was a gathering of diverse cultural groups from around world with a shared goal of educating, understanding, and celebrating our common humanity. The festival was designed to serve as a showcase in order to educate the community of the customs, foods, garments, cultural wares, arts and crafts, currency, sports, and governments of a variety of cultures- all signifying their connection to and their place in U.S. history and modern society.

The festival began with a preview gala on June 16th, from 6pm to 8pm. During the two days of the festival (the 17th and 18th of June), various local and international cultural groups performed.

The HLC used the festival as an opportunity to increase community awareness of the organization. Over the course of two days, the festival was attended by over 4,000 members of the Sarasota community. The HLC handed out brochures to interested event attendees and recruited volunteers for future projects. Overall, the participation in the festival was a success.

June 21. Javier and Estela Curiel, staff member Anita Tambay, and volunteer Monica Tambay, attended “Conexiones”, an event hosted by the Latin Chamber of Commerce to present hurricane preparedness for small businesses.