El Amanecer - The Sunrise
The Official Newsletter of The Spanish American Center
Vol. III Issue 5, May, 2018
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Above: SAC Food Service employees Ana Torres & Ana Rodriguez greet our distinguished visitors at Congressional Breakfast held at SAC on April 21, 2018.
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Congressmen Visit
Spanish American Center
Engage the hispanic community in
dialogue of understanding, hear concerns.
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A special congressional breakfast
was
hosted by the Spanish American Center on April 21, 2018 in our filled-to-capacity Davis Higgins Cocina! Photos at left depict our guests,
Congressman Luis Gutiérrez
(D- Illinois), along with our own
Congressman Jim McGovern
(D-MA)
)
of Worcester! Congressman Gutiérrez and Congressman McGovern visited the Center and solicited input from the community. Approximately fifty individuals attended, enjoyed some inspiring comments from the Congressmen and participated in a lively question and answer session following a delicious breakfast.
Muchas Gracias
for the wonderful hospitality shown to all at the Center. We send a hearty Thank you to BOTH of these dedicated and passionate Congressmen for their devotion to our government and attention and action for the needs of all their constituents!
M
ore photos HERE! (SAC Website)
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News and notes from Neddy May, 2018
Spring is finally here, and, an invitation!
Dear friends,
I am dedicating this issue of
El Amanecer
to
Christina Gonzales,
who, after working here at the Spanish American Center for seven years has given her letter of resignation and is off to pursue new opportunities and new horizons.
While working at The Center, Christina supervised our Emergency Food Pantry, Youth After School Program, and also coordinated the volunteers who came to participate in public service or community engagement.
At all times she demonstrated a high degree of loyalty and trustworthiness in her work and in the community, and she always carried out her obligations with a smile.
Christina represented the Center in a professional manner in many extra assignments, fundraising, community meetings and events, and United Way Basic Needs.
As Director, I am proud of her many accomplishments, especially seeing the love and passion in which she treated those in need. She is an example of who we are in the fulfillment of our mission.
On behalf of our Board of Directors, Staff and the community we serve,
we wish Christina the best of luck as she moves on. Please join with us in our thanks over her remaining weeks at SAC and, if you can, join us for our farewell gathering on Tuesday, May 15 from 2 - 4 pm.
God bless -
(Editor's note: Thank you as well, Christina, for all of your great photos and your help with this newsletter!)
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Winchendon School hosts
f
undraiser for SAC, Maria!
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"Our fundraiser aims to help families who are living both in Puerto Rico, as well as those who were evacuated here to Massachusetts." - Winchendon School event page.
SAC extends our sincere thanks to The Winchendon School for this tremendous outpouring of generosity for The Spanish American Center AND Puerto Rico.
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Central Mass Agency on Aging Luncheon at SAC
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The picture at left was taken by Vanessa Ramos, CMAA Outreach Coordinator. at the Center on April 12, 2018.From left to right (standing up) are: Aurea Carrión,
Silvia López, Neddy Latimer (SAC Director), Ana Pesantes, María Consuelo Malavé, Daniel Torres, Hugo Castro, Hugo
Pesantes, and Ethan Belding (CMAA Contract Manager). Sitting down are Alma Opio and Mickey Guzmán (SAC Elder Coord.)
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Did You Know? - Catering by SAC!
The Spanish American Center's Food Service Staff
is now offering our wonderful Spanish-themed food for your local catering needs! We are expanding our food choices and a new menu will be finalized shortly. We have been assisted in this with the expertise from the
Fitchburg State University Business Department faculty members Dr. Rene Scapparone and FSU Senior Liz Rivera
. Our new menu will be posted shortly on our web site. You have likely sampled some of our wonderful selections at events we have catered locally - most recently at Stand Against Racism and the Winchendon School's Gala for Puerto Rico. We will be able to provide buffet foods for your party, collation, luncheon or business meeting - and you, in turn, will be supporting a great, local non-profit!
For information, call 978-534-3145 and ask for José Latimer. Thank you to
Fitchburg State University
for your Marketing help!
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Fitchburg State University Collaboration @ SAC!
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Dr. Alberto Cardelle, Vice President for Academics Affairs at FSU, and Dr. Rene Scapparoe, professor in the Business School at FSU, came to visit the Spanish American Center to learn about the Center's programs, meet the staff and discuss how we could collaborate to meet the needs of the Latino community.
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Germinemos con Nutri-Salud offers healthy Cooking Classes at SAC!
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Clients, staff and friends participated in Monday evening healthy cooking classes held at the David Higgins Cocina. Menus featured heart healthy meat substitutes and a varied diet - targeting key ingredients offered through food pantry selections and fresh produce. Here, at right, is instructor Maria Rodriguez (MA Certified Teacher y Educadora de Estilo de Vida), who presented the workshops & recipes.
Fotos del taller que se está llevando a cabo en el Centro Hispano de Leominster “Cómo Transformar tu comida en medicina”.
Nuestro enfoque es enseñarle a la comunidad a cómo utilizar los alimentos del « Food Pantry” para mejorar su calidad de vida🌱❤️🌾
Photos of the workshop being carried out at SAC in Leominster "How to transform your food into medicine".
Our approach is to teach the community how to use the food of "food pantry" to improve its quality of life!
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We continue to offer suppo
rt
, advocacy and case management to new arrivals from Puerto Rico, as these resilient families strive to settle, find jobs, register to vote, and enroll their children in school. In the photos and article below, which appeared locally in the
Sentinel & Enterprise
, our six month commemorative of the hurricane was held at the Center, funded by a generous donation from the
Lin-Manuel Miranda Family
charity fund. We thank everyone who has been so supportive to the Spanish American Center and our new and existing families as we adjust to the reality of post-Maria Puerto Rico/Massachusetts, USA!
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D
espite struggles, hurricane victims see hope in relocating to Fitchburg, Leominster
" LEOMINSTER — It’s been more than six months since Hurricane Maria displaced many of Puerto Rico’s residents, scattering them across the country to unfamiliar new homes.
Of the estimated 234 families who sought shelter in the communities of Leominster and Fitchburg, 14 refugees gathered at the Spanish American Center on Friday to reflect on what their new lives as New Englanders have been like.
The emotional, often-times tearful, gathering was a roundtable discussion in which people shared the stories of their journeys. All of the guests spoke only in Spanish, but their experiences were relayed with the help of a translator
." - by Peter Jasinski, Sentinel and Enterprise Correspondent
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We are
The Spanish American Center, Inc.
We are a minority managed non-profit social service agency 501 (c) (3)
Your donations are greatly appreciated and stay in our community!
Sirviendo Nuestra Comunidad
- Serving Our Community-
for over 50 years!
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