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The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States
Serving our Community for 28 Years!
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Make Portuguese Count™ Crowdfunding
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December 2019
LUS
US Newsletter
The Online Newsletter of PALCUS
In this issue......
PALCUS News
Embassy Row
- PALCUS Partners in Reforestation Project in Portugal
- 42nd meeting of the Standing Bilateral Commission between the US and Portugal
Gateway Featured Business
Community News:
- Portugalia Marketplace opens Artigos, a new concept store
- For the Love of Port
- Casa da Saudade Library presents Portuguese Christmas Traditions
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PALCUS - 2019 IN REVIEW
2019 was a big year for PALCUS!
- Held a Congressional Reception in Washington, D.C. bringing 2 additional members to the Portuguese-American Congressional Caucus
- Launched the 2nd edition of the PALCUS Index National Survey.
- Spearheaded the Make Portuguese Count™ in the 2020 Census Campaign
- Held the Annual Leadership Awards Gala in Sacramento, CA
- Awarded scholarships to graduate and undergraduate Portuguese-American students
- Signed a protocol of cooperation with Universidade Católica, LIsbon
- and much more....
We thank YOU, our members, partners and supporters for all of your work, donations, assistance and dedication to these and all of our programs.
PALCUS IS ALL OF US. View the Year-End message to learn more.
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PALCUS Launches GoFundMe Campaign to Benefit
Make Portuguese Count™ in the 2020 Census Campaign
Thank you! You donated $3415 out of our $5,000 goal!
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.
Please consider us in your year-end giving plans.
All proceeds to benefit the Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign
Thank you for your support! PLEASE GIVE HERE!
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PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ Campaign UPDATE
Be like Mikel, Emilie and John -
Pledge to Write "Portuguese" in the 2020 Census!
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(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.
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PALCUS Make Portuguese Count™ by the Numbers (so far!).......
MPC Affiliated Organizations: 198
MPC Captains Nationwide: 69
Events Attended: 152
(May - December, 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.
Make Portuguese Count™ is made possible with the
generous support of:
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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..
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Dulce Maria Scott, Ph.D.
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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).
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PALITICUS New Episode:
NationalConference2018 - Gloria Sousa
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.
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| PALITICUS - NationalConference2018 - Gloria Sousa |
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The Gifts That Keep On Giving: 5 Strategies To Tax-Optimize Charitable Giving
Individual Americans gave $292 billion to charity last year, according to the Giving USA report.
That number was the
third-highest on record , despite the fact that the tax changes that took effect in 2018 reduced some of the opportunities to take advantage of tax breaks for charitable giving. Clearly, most donations are motivated by a lot more than tax savings. But there's no reason not to maximize your tax benefits from being charitable and to do that, under the new law, takes some planning. Here are five key strategies. The best option will depend on your age, the amount and type of assets you plan to gift, and the level of control that you want to exert over the gift. As always, it's smart to consult your own tax advisor.
#1 Bunch Your Donations
#2 Use Donor-Advised Funds
#3 Donate Appreciated Assets
#4 Donate Part of Your IRA
#5 Invest in a Charitable Annuity
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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.
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U.S. Embassy in Portugal
PALCUS Partners in Reforestation Project in Portugal
Responding to the call from
U.S. Ambassador and Mrs. George Glass, PALCUS launched a crowdfunding campaign to engage Portuguese Americans in raising funds for the "Friendship Forest" reforestation project in the Pinhal de Leiria, Portugal. Our community generously donated $1,000 for the project which provided for the planting of 300 trees!
Sensitive to the ravages of forest fires on the West Coast of the U.S. and in his home state of Oregon, Ambassador Glass developed this project to support reforestation in Portugal suffering from the same plight.
PALCUS is proud to be a partner in this initiative.
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FestVerde Event and Ceremony
Building on the knowledge and contacts developed during the 22-day
Reforestation Nation Earth Day campaign in April 2019, the U.S. Embassy hosted a community event called
FestVerde.
FestVerde demonstrated the American people's solidarity with communities in recovery from forest fires, underscored U.S. values of service and volunteerism, and served as a model for community-led, reforestation efforts. As a show of our commitment to working side by side to solve shared challenges, the U.S. government with support from partners on both sides of the Atlantic, celebrated the donation of 15,000 trees to the U.S.-Portugal Friendship Forest in the beautiful Pinhal de Leiria.
Read more
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| Mrs. Mary Glass (L) and Ambassador George Glass (R) at ceremonies of FestVerde |
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42nd meeting of the Standing Bilateral Commission between the US and Portugal
During the 42nd meeting of the Standing Bilateral Commission between the US and Portugal, which took place on December 17, U.S. Ambassador Glass and Secretary of State for Development and Cooperation, Teresa Ribeiro, signed an agreement between the US Department of Justice and the Portuguese Ministry of Justice entitled, an "Agreement between the United States of America and the Portuguese Republic on the Sharing of Seized Property or Equivalent Value, "
This new agreement
creates a permanent mechanism for the two countries to, when appropriate, share the proceeds of property seized following joint operations and investigations. During the signing, Ambassador Glass emphasized, "The US and Portugal are stronger and safer when we work together. This agreement not only serves to strengthen cooperation between the Portuguese and American law enforcement agencies, but also helps to ensure that ill-gotten gains can be reinvested in both of our societies."
https://pt.usembassy.gov/
https://www.facebook.com/usdos.portugal/
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GATEWAY FEATURED BUSINESS
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Bakey Bakes of Atlanta, Georgia
Bakey Bakes is an Atlanta based boutique bakery that has received great praise and popularity in the community due to the variety of beautiful and uniquely flavored treats offered. Run and founded by Larissa, a baker from Portugal.
Bakey Bakes specializes in uniquely flavored and equally stunning sweets and treats for events, parties, weddings and other catered endeavors! Delicious AND stunning cakes, cookies, pies and so much more.
To look for more Portuguese businesses and organizations throughout the US (or add your own), please visit the Gateway
online.
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Portugalia Marketplace opens Artigos, a new concept store
Artigos, a new concept store in Fall River's Portugalia Marketplace highlights the best of products from Portugal. The store opened in December with an array of porcelain dinnerware, furniture, gift items, toiletries and more.
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FOR THE LOVE OF PORT
One of the world's foremost experts on wines from Portugal, Roy Hersh is the founder of
For The Love Of Port
, a subscription based online publication that focuses on the beautiful wines of Portugal. Roy not only reviews and writes about Portuguese wines but he leads tours of the regions of Portugal, including trips to Douro and even Madeira. Roy talks about his absolute top wines from this amazing country and I think you will very much enjoy learning more about his story.
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Casa da Saudade Library presents Portuguese Christmas Traditions
Casa da Saudade Library presents Portuguese Christmas Traditions, an exhibition by Frank Camara and Roberto Medeiros.
Light refreshments and snacks will be served.
The opening will happen Thursday, December 5th, but the exhibition will be available until January 6th.
Casa Da Saudade
58 Crapo Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
(508) 991-6218
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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:
palcus@palcus.org
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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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