The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
Serving our Community for 28 Years!
Make Portuguese Count™ Crowdfunding
November 2019
LUS US Newsletter
The Online Newsletter of PALCUS
 
In this issue......
 

PALCUS News  
  • PALCUS Launches GoFundMe Campaign for Make Portuguese Count™
  • PALCUS Chair Angela Simoes receives The PFSA Portuguese Community Service Award
  • PALCUS and Make Portuguese Count™ present at the I Symposium on Lusophone Cultures of California
  • PALCUS Announces Partnership with Portuguese Catholic University for Annual Fellowship  
  • Have you completed the PALCUS INDEX NATIONAL SURVEY yet?
  • PALCUS Call for Committee - MARKETING COMMITTEE
  • PALCUS National Conference report now available
  • PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign UPDATE
  • PALITICUS New Episode: National Conference 2018 - Natalia Luis
  • PALCUS Member Spotlight: Dina Grilo opens a new chapter in East Newark as first new mayor in 32 years
  • PALCUS Member Spotlight: Patricio Enterprises recognized as a 2019 HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion Program Demonstration Awardee
  • Thank You for contributing to the Friendship Forest Fundraiser
  • PALCUS in the news:
    • RTP Hora dos Portugueses shows PALCUS Gala
Embassy Row
  • IV Meeting of Portuguese Diaspora's Investors 
  • North Cascades National Park and Peneda-Geres National Park Sign Sister Park Arrangement
Gateway Featured Business
  • Alzuleycha 
Community News:
  • New Website for Consulate General of San Francisco
  • Jubilo Afonso Appointed Judge
  • Portuguese in Massachusetts Civic Life Survey
  • Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute lecture with poet Sam Pereira
     
PALCUS NEWS
PALCUS Launches GoFundMe Campaign to Benefit
Make Portuguese Count™ in the 2020 Census Campaign

Last year PALCUS launched a national campaign to encourage the participation of Portuguese Americans in the 2020 U.S. Census so that all U.S. residents who claim Portuguese ancestry will be informed and counted as "Portuguese" in the 2020 Census.

We have made great progress but we still have a lot of work to do, and we need your help!  The funds raised through this effort will be used for printed materials (posters, flyers and pamphlets), campaign buttons, instructional and educational videos, marketing (radio/print/tv) and hosting informational events to spread the word, all in an attempt to reach every person of Portuguese ancestry in the country through media outreach and social media.

Every $1 counts, so please do what you can to support this important initiative that directly benefits you, your family and your community. 

All proceeds to benefit the Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign

Thank you for your support!    PLEASE GIVE HERE!


 New PALCUS Make Portuguese Count Video
New Make Portuguese Count Video

Visit  www.palcus.org/makeportuguesecount  for more information.
PALCUS Chair Angela Simoes receives The PFSA Portuguese Community Service Award

Angela Costa Simoes was selected as one of the PFSA Portuguese Community Service Award recipient for 2019. This award recognizes the positive impact these individuals have done for the Portuguese Community including the Make Portuguese Count campaign.

Congratulations Angela!!

PALCUS and Make Portuguese Count™ present at the I Symposium on Lusophone Cultures of California

 

On Saturday, November 2nd, PALCUS Chair Angela Simoes gave a presentation about Make Portuguese Count at the I Symposium on Lusophone Cultures of California, a two day event at UC Davis.
PALCUS Announces Partnership with Portuguese Catholic University for Annual Fellowship 

One PALCUS Member per Year to be Awarded Full Fellowship in Portugal

PALCUS  pleased to announce a partnership with Católica University in Portugal, where one of their Fellowships will be reserved for a PALCUS Member. The Fellowship covers an entire degree, either undergraduate or graduate, not just one year or one semester. This is an incredible opportunity for our youth and we are proud to collaborate with such a prestigious university.
Applications due: January 31, 2020


Have you completed the  
PALCUS INDEX NATIONAL SURVEY?

We need to hear from you!

This survey will help us gain a better understanding of our Portuguese-American communities in order to serve you better. In this survey, people who reside in the United States and are Portuguese or of Portuguese descent are asked to complete a short 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
  • Your survey responses will be strictly confidential and data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate for statistics only..

 
Dulce Maria Scott, Ph.D.
Many thanks to  
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).

To see the results of the first PALCUS Index Survey, visit  https://www.palcus.org/index
PALCUS Call for Committees

Volunteers are one of the most important assets of any organization. Their work on the PALCUS Board of Directors and committees is directly related to the success of PALCUS. It takes the time and expertise of many individuals working through the numerous PALCUS committees to shape the national organization that exists today.

PALCUS is committed to excellence in its diverse programs. To help us achieve this goal, we reach out to leaders in business and industry, to community leaders, to parents, and to students in our community by asking them to work with us in an advisory capacity to improve our programs.

This "Call for Committee" provides another opportunity to serve.

CALL FOR COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION 

MARKETING COMMITTEE

If you have experience in brand and identity design, social media, marketing and PR to help with our website, redesign of our brand and marketing efforts, we need you on our Marketing Committee!  

This committee is chaired by PALCUS Director Paul do Forno. 

Please email us at palcus@palcus.org if you're interested in helping on this committee. You'll gain leadership skills and build relationships with our great directors and members!

PALCUS National Conference report now available

The PALCUS National Conference report is now available for download.

If you would like a hard copy please request one via the email palcus@palcus.org.

 


PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign UPDATE

Be like Mikel, Emilie and John - 
Pledge to Write "Portuguese" in the 2020 Census!

(L-R) Mikel Santos, Emilie Portal and John Santos
Courtesy of Benvinda Santos taken at Memorial Day Farmingville, NY Parade with the participation of the Portuguese-American Center of Suffolk County (Clube de Farmingville), an affiliate of NYPALC.

PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ by the Numbers (so far!).......
 
MPC Affiliated Organizations: 194 
Has YOUR organization registered? Visit: www.palcus.org/makeportuguesecount 

MPC Captains Nationwide: 63

Events Attended: 150 
(May - November, 2019)

Campaign Buttons: 15,000

Printed Materials Distributed: 40,000

Would your club, organization, school, church or business like to help spread the word with information and printed materials?  
Contact Marie Fraley directly to put you in contact with a Captain in your area! marie.fraley@palcus.org

 
Watch for our Special Make Portuguese Count™ Newsletter dedicated to all the news about our participation as a community in the 2020 Census.

Visit our Facebook Page  @Make Portuguese Count
   
Make Portuguese Count™ is made possible with the 
generous support of:

PALITICUS New Episode: 

NationalConference2018 - Natalia Luis

This is the second in a series of PALITICUS episodes in video forma recorded at the Inaugural Portuguese American National Conference in Washington, DC.! Today's episode features Natalia Luis, COO and Owner of M. Luis Construction Co.

PALITICUS - NationalConference2018 - Natalia Luis
PALITICUS - NationalConference2018 - Natalia Luis

PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT : 
Dina Grilo opens a new chapter in East Newark as first new mayor in 32 years

Dina Grilo

On the day she would officially be elected East Newark's first new mayor in 32 years, Dina Grilo was out in the streets of her hometown chatting with voters.

It wasn't in an effort to win: she had no opponent in Tuesday's uncontested mayoral race. But Grilo earned her spot on the ballot five months earlier by upsetting East Newark's longtime mayor, Joseph Smith, in a rare contested Democratic primary by winning nearly 55 percent of the vote.
She hadn't realized she would make history as Hudson County's second-ever female mayor until the press started publicizing it, Grilo said.

Now, she'll lead the tiny borough where she's lived her whole life.

"The people spoke," the mayor-elect said. "It's what they want. They want change."

Congratulations Dina!

PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT : 
Patricio Enterprises recognized as a 2019 HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion Program Demonstration Awardee



The U.S. Department of Labor has recognized  Patricio Enterprises  for the second year in a row as a 2019 HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion Program Demonstration Awardee! Recipients of the  #HireVets  award are recognized for the commitment to recruiting, hiring, and retaining veterans.


Congratulations Patricio Enterprises!

Thank You for contributing to the Friendship Forest Fundraiser

 

PALCUS thanks everyone that contributed to the Friendship Forest Fundraiser. We were able to raise $1,000 and plant about 300 trees!!


PALCUS IN THE NEWS

Thank you to our friends at RTP  Hora dos Portugueses for covering our Gala Weekend!
RTP Hora dos Portugueses PALCUS Gala 2019 weekend in Sacramento, California.

EMBASSY ROW

IV Meeting of Portuguese Diaspora's Investors

The IV Meeting of Portuguese Diaspora's Investors will take place at Viseu, Portugal, on 12-14 December 2019.
The event is organized jointly by the Secretaria de Estado das Comunidades Portuguesas, through the Gabinete de Apoio ao Investidor da Diáspora, and the Intermunicipality of Viseu, Dão e Lafões.
The program is now available on the Portuguese Community's website at  https://www.portaldascomunidades.mne.pt/pt/gabinete-de-apoio-ao-investidor-da-diaspora-gaid
To attend the meeting please send an email to   gaid@mne.gov.pt.
Embassy of Portugal in the U.S.

Are you connected with the Embassy of Portugal in the US?  Sign up for their newsletter on their website, or follow them on social media.



 




North Cascades National Park and Peneda-Geres National Park Sign Sister Park Arrangement

On October 25, the United States of America's North Cascades National Park and Portugal's Peneda Geres Park signed a Sister Park Arrangement, the first pairing of American and Portuguese National Parks.  North Cascades Superintendent Karen-Taylor Goodrich and ICNF President Nuno Banza signed the Sister Park Arrangement in a ceremony held at Casa Carlucci in the presence of Ambassador George E. Glass as well as representatives from ICNF, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (TBC), the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action (TBC).
Ambassador Glass hailed the agreement as a symbol of the shared commitment to conservation and the protection of public lands, highlighting the similarities of the two parks in terms of their rich flora and fauna, transnational boundaries, and mountainous geography.  The Ambassador stated "Having visited both parks, it is exciting to see these true treasures of our respective countries partnering under this sister park arrangement to facilitate and foster future collaboration."
Sister Park Arrangements are an initiative of the U.S. National Park Service, designed to increase information sharing and direct park-to-park contacts in order to address the common issues facing national parks around the world.

GATEWAY FEATURED BUSINESS
 
Alzuleycha of San Jose, California
 

Alzuleycha is a design studio that reinvents details of the Portuguese architecture transforming them into decoration accessories for your home. Details like the hydraulic floor tile, the wall tiles, the balcony bricks and balustrades are Alzuleycha´s inspirations to create decorations accessories. Alzuleycha wanted to honor and praise the long and rich history of the Portuguese architecture, redesigning and modernizing details that go unnoticed in the architectural ensemble of the city by bringing them inside the house as a piece of art. 
 
To learn more about Alzuleycha,  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.
   
COMMUNITY NEWS
The Consulate General of Portugal in San Francisco has a new website

On behalf of the General Consulate of Portugal in San Francisco, please take note of its new website:

Jubilo Afonso apointed judge

The ceremony took place at the Union County Supreme Court in Elizabeth, where the new judge was sworn in before the court's judge, Candido Rodriguez Jr . PALCUS was represented by Vice-Chair Katherine Soares.

Congratulations!!


Welcome to the Portuguese in Massachusetts Civic Life survey!
 
Are you are a member of the Portuguese American community in Massachusetts? We are pleased to invite you to participate in this survey. A link to the survey is here: Portuguese in Massachusetts Civic Life 2019 Survey
 
"We have designed this survey to get a sense of how Portuguese and Portuguese Americans engage their communities in Massachusetts. 
 
We are both Luso-American academics: Daniela Melo holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and teaches in the Social Sciences at Boston University; Paul Manuel holds a Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University, and teaches in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington DC.
 
The results of this survey will help us with our research. We seek to better understand how the Portuguese have managed to build their own distinctive community in Massachusetts.  Building on both the state political culture and social capital literature, our project asks how the immigrant Portuguese community has adapted to life in Massachusetts. More specifically, it wonders which strategies both Portuguese-American community leaders and elected officials have used in order to help their ethnic group assimilate into the larger fabric of Massachusetts society, all the while maintaining their cultural and religious distinctiveness; and, what this case may teach us about how new immigrant groups engage the larger American society.
 
The survey will require approximately fifteen minutes to complete. There is no compensation for responding nor is there any known risk. In order to ensure that all information will remain anonymous and confidential, please do not include your name.  If you choose to participate in this project, please answer all questions as honestly as possible no later than November 30, 2019.
 
Participation is strictly voluntary, and you may refuse to participate.
 
Thank you for taking the time to assist us in this project. The data collected will provide useful information regarding how Portuguese and Portuguese Americans engage their communities in Massachusetts.
 
If you require additional information, have any questions, or would like a .pdf summary copy of the final study, please send an e-mail to  dfmel@conncoll.edu  or to   pmanuel@american.edu . "

Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute lecture with poet Sam Pereira
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:  palcus@palcus.org
JOIN PALCUS
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! 


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!

Newsletter Archive

Read past issues of the LUSUS Newsletter at http://www.palcus.org/#!lusus-newsletter/cbac 

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Jobs for Portuguese Speakers
Jobs for Portuguese Speakers

If you want to put your Portuguese language skills to use in your next job, there are many opportunities out there! Visit the  Jobs for Portuguese Speakers Facebook page to see some job openings.

Contact Information

Website:  www.palcus.org
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
Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States, Inc.
9255 Center Street, Ste. 404, Manassas, VA 20110
Email: palcus@palcus.org   PH: 202-466-4664   Web: www.palcus.org
EIN: 52-1739459
Copyright © 2019, PALCUS. All Rights Reserved.