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The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
Serving our Community for 28 Years!
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July 2019
LUS
US Newsletter
The Online Newsletter of PALCUS
In this issue......
PALCUS News
- PALCUS Chair Angela Simões, Panelist: 1º Congresso Mundial de Redes da Diáspora Portuguesa.
- PALCUS Launches 2nd Edition of the PALCUS INDEX NATIONAL SURVEY
- Interview About the PALCUS Index National Survey
- PALCUS Launches Beautiful Azulejo Ornament Fundraiser for Internships
- PALCUS Attends TAP Portugal's Luncheon Celebrating Launch of Nonstop Flights Between Washington, D.C. and Lisbon, Portugal
- PALCUS Attends Day of Portugal Celebration in San Francisco
- PALCUS Attends 40th Anniversary Gala of Portugal-US Chamber of Commerce
- PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign UPDATE
- PALCUS Director Paul do Forno (OH) Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of St. Jerome's of Waterloo.
- Applications for PALCUS Scholarships still open!
- PALCUS Member Spotlight: Dan Melo - DRM Solutions
- PALCUS Member Spotlight: Tisha Penicheiro
- PALCUS Member Spotlight: Manuel da Silva Rosa
- PALCUS Member Spotlight: Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Launches Bellis Azorica: A New Book Series Dedicated to the Azores
PALCUS Upcoming Events
- Buy your tickets! Annual Leadership Awards Gala in Sacramento, CA
Get to Know Your Consul General
Embassy Row
- Catherine Havasi MIT AI Scientist in Portugal
Gateway Featured Business
- Virginia Contractors Supply, Inc.
Community News:
- Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, New Bedford, MA
- Exhibition Portuguese and North American Surrealism in New York
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PALCUS Chair Angela Simões, Panelist:
1º Congresso Mundial de Redes da Diáspora Portuguesa
PORTO, Portugal - PALCUS Chair, Angela Simões participated in the 1st World Congress of the Networks of the Portuguese Diaspora on July 13, as part of the event's main panel discussion, "A Rede de Associativismo," in Porto, Portugal.
The panel followed addresses by President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, and Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva.
The main panel discussion, "A Rede de Associativismo," brought together recognized figures representing areas of Culture, Science, Economics, Politics and Citizenship from various countries. They discussed the maintenance of Portuguese culture while actively engaged in the society, industry and civic life of their host countries.
"What a great experience to be among so many smart and amazing leaders of the Diaspora, and honored to be included in the main panel representing PALCUS and our
Make Portuguese Count™
National Campaign," commented the PALCUS Chairwoman in reflecting on her experience.
While in Portugal, Chairwoman Simões, met with the heads of a number of organizations forwarding PALCUS' mission to strengthen ties between networks of the United States and Portugal.
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PALCUS Launches 2nd Edition of the
PALCUS INDEX NATIONAL SURVEY
You are invited to participate in our survey, PALCUS INDEX - NATIONAL SURVEY.
This survey is conducted by the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS), so that we can gain a better understanding of our Portuguese American communities. In this survey, people who reside in the United States and are Portuguese or of Portuguese descent are asked to complete a questionnaire that asks about their demographic and socioeconomic characteris
tics as well as their community concerns.
It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary.
It is very important for us to learn your opinions. Your survey responses will be strictly confidential and data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate.
Make thanks to
Dulce Maria Scott, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Anderson University and PALCUS Research Consultant for her work in the design, analysis and reporting of the PALCUS Index National Survey (2017, 2019).
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Interview About the PALCUS Index National Survey
RDPi (Rádio Portugal Internacional) interviewed PALCUS Vice-Chair, Katherine Soares for their program, Jornal das Comunidades. The interview covered the launch of the 2nd Edition of the PALCUS Index National Survey.
Click the link to hear the interview (Interview starts at the :45 second mark)
Listen to the interview here
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PALCUS Launches Beautiful Azulejo Ornament Fundraiser
for Internships
We have created a one of a kind ornament to help raise funds for our Summer Internship in Portugal Program.
This ornament is beautiful! It will add the perfect Portuguese touch to any Christmas tree.
There is no other ornament like this anywhere! We hope to make this an annual fundraiser in order to continue providing the unique opportunity of a summer internship in Portugal for our students.
Price: $25 + S&H
We will ship internationally
Please keep in mind, as these ornaments are hand-painted requiring that work take place well in advance, they will start shipping in October.
All proceeds go to support the PALCUS Summer Internship Program that provides a fantastic opportunity for a Portuguese-American college student to work in Portugal over the summer. We have partnered with the Study in Portugal Network to provide a full experience that includes housing, some meals and group activities.
Thank you for your support of this valuable program!
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PALCUS Attends TAP Portugal's Luncheon Celebrating the Launch of Nonstop Flights Between Washington, D.C. and Lisbon, Portugal
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On Monday June 17th, PALCUS, represented by
Laurinda Clemente, Director (VA), was pleased to
attend the TAP Portugal Luncheon to celebrate the launch of direct flights between Washington, D.C. and Lisbon, Portugal.
PALCUS was happy to be invited to share in this great celebration! Thank you TAP!
It was a great pleasure
to meet TAP's flight
crew, leadership and team members. And such an honor to meet Portuguese Boston Marathon Winner ROSA MOTA and to be in the presence of H.E. Domingos Fezas Vital, Ambassador of Portugal.
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PALCUS Attends Reception for Day of Portugal Celebration at the Consulate in San Francisco
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On Monday June 10th, PALCUS, represented by
John Bento, Director (CA), was pleased to
attend the Reception for the Day of Portugal celebration at the Consulate in San Francisco. Thank you to Consul General Maria Joao Lopes Cardoso for a great evening.
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PALCUS Attends 40th Anniversary Gala of Portugal-US Chamber of Commerce Gala
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PALCUS Vice-Chair,
Thank you to
Chamber President, Bernardo Goarmon for hosting Katherine as a special guest of the Chamber.
It was a wonderful evening! PALCUS is not only proud of the Chamber's work but also of its participation as a
Make Portuguese Count™ Affiliated Organization!
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PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign UPDATE
The PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ in the 2020 Census is gaining momentum!
With over
149 registered Affiliated Organizations and
46 Captains committed nationwide, the word is out that Portuguese can and will be counted in the 2020 Census. The message is being shared throughout the Portuguese communities at numerous events such as Viva Portugal!, Festas do Divino Espírito Santo, Dia de Portugal parades, festivals and flag raisings from coast to coast.
Watch for our Special Make Portuguese Count™ Newsletter dedicated to all the news about our participation as a community in the 2020 Census.
View the Make Portuguese Count™ promotional video
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PALCUS Director Paul do Forno (OH) Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of St. Jerome's of Waterloo
On June 9, 2019
Director Paul do Forno (OH)
received the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from his Alma Mater University Of St. Jerome's of Waterloo..
Congratulations, Paul!
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PALCUS National Scholarship Applications Deadline is July 31, 2019
!
PALCUS is pleased to announce that the 2019 application cycle for the PALCUS National Scholarships is now open.
The program was established by the
Rosa Family in 2012 and is maintained by donations by
Marc F. Rosa with matching funds from Merrill Lynch and other donors. This year the
Alexandre António DaCosta Simões Memorial Scholarship
will be added and will be designated for a student who is studying Portuguese language and/or culture.
For more details, please contact PALCUS.
To be eligible, students must be a
current college undergraduate (at least freshman) or graduate student in an approved program of study.
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PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT : Dan Melo - DRM Solutions
On June 14, 2019 Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce presented Dan Melo and DRM Solutions the 2019 Next Generation Leader Award at their Annual Small Business Recognition Awards Program.
Congratulations Dan!!
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PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT : Ticha Penicheiro's New Career
Ticha Penicheiro has discovered a different way to hand out assists now that her playing career is over.
Rather than setting up teammates for easy baskets, Penicheiro is guiding the next generation of players in her new career as an agent.
The former Old Dominion and Sacramento Monarchs point guard headlines the
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class that will be inducted Saturday.
"I just wanted to stay close to the game," said Penicheiro , a
four-time WNBA All-Star. "This is my way of paying it forward. At the end of the day, basketball gave me more than I could ever imagine. I wanted to see the game evolve and continue to get better.
Congratulations Ticha!!
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PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT : Manuel da Silva Rosa
On June 19, 2019,
Manuel da Silva Rosa was in Portugal for the
Conferência Portugal e o Segredo de Colombo. The event took place in the
Palácio Marquês de Pombal.
The author is a professor, historian and writer, born in 1961 on the island of Pico, in the Azores, and emigrated to Boston in 1973. He earned a doctorate in Insular and Atlantic History (XV-XX) from the University of the Azores. The presentation of this work includes research papers based on DNA evidence that affirms that Columbus was Portuguese.
Since 1991, Manuel da Silva Rosa has devoted himself deeply to the study and scientific investigation of the life of Christopher Columbus, in a constant search for truth and as such is considered one of the world's leading experts on the subject.
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PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture -
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth/Tagus Press Launches Bellis Azorica: A New Book Series Dedicated to the Azores
The Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture/Tagus Press at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth announces the launch of
Bellis Azorica
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an unprecedented book series
dedicated exclusively to the literature, culture and history of the Azores-with the publications of its first two titles.
The series focuses on publishing new translations and reissuing out of print translations of classic works of literature, poetry, and essay. The series likewise commissions original works of scholarship and advances research in a number of fields.
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Gala Weekend Agenda
Friday, October 11, 2019
PALCUS Gala Welcome Reception
(Invitation and Members Attending Gala Only)
6:30 - 8:30 p.m
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Annual PALCUS Members' Meeting (Members Only)
10:30 a.m.
Citizen's Hotel
Lusitanian Forum
Topic: Encouraging Civic Participation and
Public Service in the Portuguese Community
Hosted by CPAC
Lunch 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Forum 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Citizen's Hotel
Annual Leadership Awards Gala
Cocktail Reception: 6:00 p.m.
Dinner and Awards: 7:00 p.m.
Elks Tower Casino and Event Center
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Portuguese Wine Tour & Lunch
Carvalho Winery
St. Jorge Winery
Bus leaves Citizen's Hotel at 9:30 a.m.
Returns to Hotel at 4:00 p.m.
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GET TO KNOW YOUR CONSUL GENERAL
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Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco,
1. What is your background and how did you become a Consul General?
I studied sciences and have a degree in Biology and a Masters in Plant Breeding. I had a short academic career during which I taught Molecular Genetics in a Department of the University of Azores, in Terceira Island, and dreamt of doing a PhD in Oceanography. However, like so many Portuguese, I also felt that the world was a fascinating place that I wanted to discover. In the end, I decided to join the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and this was a decision that I never regretted. Since then, I lived in different Continents and learned from other cultures. Mostly, I worked in Embassies, but was Consul-General once, in Beira, Mozambique. The more I travel, the more I understand the Portuguese nature and the traits that makes us very special and well respected all over the world: tolerance, adaptability, resilience and inventiveness.
2. Tell us a bit about the region you serve - are there a lot of Portuguese? What are some of the big events or celebrations in your community?
I live in San Francisco, California. As you know, Portuguese have been living in this State for more than seven generations and are part of American society. The 2010 census identified around 350 thousand people of Portuguese origin in this State, but this number is thought to be much higher.
As in other parts of the United States, and in particular in places where the Portuguese came from the Azores, there are Divine Holy Ghost celebrations all over California, which bring the Portuguese Community and all the other Communities together. This year, a new Portuguese Festival in the central valley, in Turlock, was launched. And, of course, the Day of Portugal is celebrated every year in Kelley Park, San José and also by the Luso American Education Foundation.
As I mentioned, many Americans participate in these events and, in a way, this generous way of sharing our culture and traditions with all other cultures is what makes Portuguese well known and appreciated. The Portuguese, with their outstanding kindness, welcome other Communities into their fold. The Portuguese know how to make friends, they are respected for their innate reliability and competence in all fields, and are considered trustworthy by all.
However, we cannot forget that US institutions also celebrate the Portuguese Communities every year. At State level, the Senate and the Assembly in Sacramento, have issued a proclamation for the Month of Portuguese Heritage and this also takes place in other cities, such as San Francisco and Hayward, just to mention a few of the ceremonies that I have attended myself. There is also the recognition of the Week of the Portuguese Immigrant in March.
On the other hand, as you may remember, June 2018 was the month of Portugal in the US, and the Embassy together with all Consulates worked very hard to make it a memorable moment. Even now, we try to concentrate many of the Portuguese events we organize during that month and around our National Day, June 10th.
3. What has been your main area of focus as a Consul General?
I am a diplomat and a public servant. I truly believe in serving the Portuguese Community. My first priority was to make sure that we give the best service possible to our customers. I also am in contact with local authorities in order to, when needed, help our Community and also to hear about their views and learn from them. A great part of our work is listening to and learning from others. At the same time, I make sure that, with the help of our Trade and Investment Agency, AICEP, we promote Portugal's interests on this side of the United States.
4. What do you like most about the community you serve?
The Portuguese Community is independent, resilient and generous. The Portuguese came to this country and were able to understand where they were, what they should do and how to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that existed in this wonderful Continent. The majority of them are accomplished Portuguese Americans who have lived their American Dream, or Californian Dream, successfully.
In their extreme generosity, they welcomed me as a friend from the very first day and they have been absolutely vital for my work as Consul General. The Honorary Consuls and the members of the Consular Advisory Board are of course my greatest support as they also act as a connection to the rest of the Community which I may not be able to reach at all times.
5. What would you like to see change or improve in the community?
I have already mentioned that the Portuguese Community is very accomplished and has incredible initiative. However, some thought should go into how to attract younger Portuguese Americans to carry forward our Portuguese Heritage.
The Portuguese immigrants arrived in the United States in search of a better life and created fraternal societies, built the famous Portuguese halls, kept alive our culture and traditions. The younger generations will have to find a solution fast, in order not to lose this extraordinary heritage, which was the result of much work and, above all, of great solidarity and love. There must be a way to do it - a "modern way" of doing it- but only the young generations know what suits them best and how they want to build their future around the Portuguese Heritage of which they are nowadays so proud.
Another possible improvement, if we may call it so, would be to make the Portuguese language more spoken in our Community. In fact, I have witnessed that young people are interested in learning Portuguese, not only to connect with their grandparents, but also because they have understood that Portuguese is indeed a World Language. Speaking Portuguese is a great tool in a globalized world. In fact, in the US, many of the students who want to learn our language have no family links to Portugal. This is a priority for us and Camões Institute has recently appointed someone dedicated to coordinating the teaching of Portuguese language here in California.
I would also like to tell all Portuguese Americans to mention they are Portuguese in the Census 2020 and to consider being part of the national political debate. In California, there are several successful examples of Congressmen, State Senators and Assembly members and other public officials of Portuguese origin. In this case, small is not necessarily beautiful, there could be many more. Voting and being actively part of the democratic society where we live is important. The respect and sympathy that Portuguese inspire in this country is a major asset. We could have many more politicians in office, even at local level, where action actually starts in the first place.
6. How can people get in touch with you and/or your staff? Do you have a website? Facebook? Other social media accounts?
We have a website https://www.portugalinsf.com/
, a Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/ConsuladoGeralPortugalSanFrancisco/
and we can be contacted by email [email protected].
7. Any final comments you'd like to share?
I would like to remind you that this year we will have elections for the Autonomous Region of Madeira on September 22nd and for the National Assembly on October 6th. The changes made in the automatic census and in the electoral laws had very important effects. Nowadays, all Portuguese - both those who reside abroad and those who live in Portugal - are on an equal footing when it comes to voting. All Portuguese, even those residing abroad, provided they are registered in their respective consular posts, may vote in the forthcoming elections. So, please, don't forget to vote. To vote is to have a voice in society and a saying in the future of your children.
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Catherine Havasi MIT AI Scientist in Portugal
T
he U.S. Embassy invited Dr. Catherine Havasi to Portugal for a series of lectures on "Practical Natural Language Processing." Dr. Havasi, a technology strategist, AI researcher, and entrepreneur, currently serves as a visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab.
Her work at MIT has spanned the fields of computational creativity, transfer and meta learning, natural language understanding, and educational outreach, resulting in several spinout companies: Dalang, Luminoso, and Learning Unlimited. In the late 90s, she was a crowdsourcing pioneer when she co-founded the Open Mind Common Sense Project, the first crowd-sourced project for artificial intelligence, whose data led to the creation of ConceptNet, an open source and multilingual knowledge graph for language understanding. She previously directed the Digital Intuition group at the MIT Media Lab under a prior appointment. She also runs the AI strategy consulting firm Snowcap AI helping companies go to market and come up with innovation strategy around artificial intelligence.
During the week-long program, Dr. Havasi engaged with high school students, university students, professors, and researchers in Lisbon, Almada, Minho, Porto, and Ponta Delgada. She also engaged with government officials and business leaders to promote greater awareness and cooperation between Portugal and the United States in the area of natural language processing and artificial intelligence. This visit was an opportunity to promote mutual prosperity by encouraging relations between entities in the United States and Portugal in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
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GATEWAY FEATURED BUSINESS
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Virginia Contractors Supply, Inc. of Manassas Park, Virginia
Virginia Contractors Supply, Inc. (VCS) was founded in 1984, and is Headquartered in Manassas Park, VA. Recently, VCS has opened a second location in Richmond, VA. VCS has a delivery area that covers Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. VCS sells products for the Concrete (Residential & Commercial), Masonry, Civil Construction, Road Work and Site Work contractor. Thousands of products in stock everyday!
To learn more about Virginia Contractors Supply, Inc.
, visit their
Website or
Facebook
.
To look for more Portuguese businesses and organizations throughout the US (or add your own), please visit the Gateway
online.
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105th ANNUAL CELEBRATION of the
Feast of the Blessed Sacrament
New Bedford, MA - AUGUST 1, 2, 3, and 4, 2019
The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament features continuous live Portuguese & American entertainment at five performance locations. The 2019 Entertainment Committee has been hard at work to continue the tradition of top-quality, "FREE" Entertainment for folks of all ages!
Fore more information visit: http://feastoftheblessedsacramentcom.ning.com/
Marie Fraley, PALCUS National Census Director will be manning a display for
Make Portuguese Count™ with
U.S. Census Partnership Specialist José DaCunha and the
New Bedford Complete Count Committee.to answer questions about the 2020 Census and Question #7. Thank you to
S.S.Sacramento Association for participating as an Affiliated Organization for the Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign and your support in spreading the word! Obrigada!
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The Exhibition Portuguese and North American Surrealism in New York will take place from July 31 to August 4 of 2019 at Artifact gallery in New York City.
The idea to exhibit arose with an invitation from the ARTIFACT Gallery addressed to the artist of Coimbra Santiago Ribeiro who in turn decided to invite no more than one of the greatest surrealist feminine artists of the 21st-century of the present time, Shala Rosa.
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TELL US YOUR NEWS!!
We would love to hear what you have been up to. Events, Promotions, Graduations, Awards, Lectures or News the community should know about.
Send us an email to be featured in our newsletter:
[email protected]
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Are you a PALCUS member yet?
We are stronger together!
I
f you agree with the work undertaken by PALCUS to build the social, cultural and political capital of our community, then please join us and become a member today!
Strong membership participation means a stronger voice in the national Portuguese-American agenda. In order to advance Portuguese language education, increase presence in the congressional caucuses, and provide economic opportunities, the collective voice of thousands is needed!
In addition, PALCUS is a member-driven non-profit organization that depends on membership dues and fundraising events to fund its operations.
Members of the all-volunteer board of directors donate their time and personal funds for travel, lodging and tickets to attend networking events and planning sessions so our administrative costs are relatively low but nonetheless critical to doing business on a daily basis.
There are membership categories to suit every budget and level of interest. Please click on our membership webpage and join our voice today!
 PALCUS announces that we are now using
memberplanet, a user-friendly platform that will help us to serve you better. It is an interactive service that will allow you to update your PALCUS member profile, track donations and dues and join PALCUS circles with members of similar interests all with the click of a mouse.
When you become a PALCUS member, you will be prompted to join us on
memberplanet. As always your information is confidential and will never be shared without your permission. Questions? Contact
Graci for more information!
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Did you enjoy this newsletter? Do you know about all the programs PALCUS offers our community? Please visit our website and become a member today!
We can't do what we do without your support!
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Jobs for Portuguese Speakers
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Contact Information
Phone: 202-466-4664
9255 Center St., Suite 404
Manassas, VA 20110
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PALCUS Mission
In order to create a singular voice to advocate for the Portuguese-American and Luso-American communities at large, the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States Inc. (PALCUS) was founded in 1991 as a non-partisan, non-profit, organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The PALCUS mission is to address domestic and international concerns of the Portuguese-American Community.
The Council conducts an expanding program of educational and public affairs activities on issues of interest to the Portuguese-American community and of salience to the Luso-American Relationship.
PALCUS is committed to serving the community through increasingly active government relations efforts, the promotion of a greater awareness of ethnic accomplishments and encouraging stronger ties between Portugal and the United States. In this role PALCUS advances the community professionally, politically and culturally while working to ensure that issues directly affecting our community are addressed through our network of government and community leaders.
PALCUS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization under the IRS tax code and incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. Donations are tax deductible to extent allowed by law and will be acknowledged.
PALCUS has earned the
2018 Gold GuideStarUSA Nonprofit Profile Seal of Transparency. Visit our profile
HERE
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