Dear Friends,

We are very excited to announce our new strategic initiatives for 2016-2018!

Planning for the LCM’s future was made possible through the generosity of the

Sherwood Foundation. Their support allowed us to engage all types of community

stakeholders throughout the summer and fall of 2015. While we achieved significant

progress in the last three years, we also learned that engaging in strategic conversa-

tions allow us to keep pace with the changes happening around us. Moreover, our

new mission statement captures a renewed commitment to serve the community with

an emphasis on developing individuals, fostering leadership and engagement:

We enhance the lives of the Heartland Latino Community by supporting the

education and development of our youth and adults; promoting comprehensive

engagement of our families in all facets of their lives; and by fostering leadership

through a variety of services and activities.

This year, we have also launched new collaborations to help promote education and

social services in the South Omaha community:

The Adult Basic Education program has started working with InCommon Com-

munity Development to provide Pre-GED instruction and computer-based tutori-

als to our new group of adult learners. The instructor at InCommon is Arturo

Mejia, one of the graduates of our GED program! InCommon marks the third

satellite site for the adult education program of the LCM.

“Nuestra Familia” Supermarket (36th & Q. Street) has agreed to launch a new

partnership with our agency to provide in-kind donations of non-perishable food

items and other promotional items for our clients. Clients and visitors of the

LCM receive donations of school and home supplies in addition to canned and

packaged food.

Lastly, we are so grateful to you, our funders and supporters, for your continued vote

of confidence in our mission and approach to service delivery. We would not be able

to accomplish what we do without your continued generosity. We look forward to

keeping you informed of our progress!

Carolina Quezada

Executive Director

Spring 2016 Newsletter

Empowering youth and families through education and awareness to build a stronger and more engaged community.

Latino Center of the Midlands (LCM) Announces New 2016-2018 Strategic Plan Our Mission

We enhance the lives of the Heartland Latino Community by supporting the education and development of our youth and adults; promoting comprehensive engagement of our families in all facets of their lives; and by fostering leadership through a variety of services and activities.

Our Vision

Latino Center of the Midlands empowers youth and families through education and awareness to build a stronger and more engaged community.

2016-2018 Strategic Initiatives

1) LCM is governed by a high-functioning strategic board;

2) An effective fund development plan ensures LCM’s future sustainability;

3) Programming is guided by clear metrics and is grounded in the needs of the community; and,

4) A strategic marketing/communication plan is developed and maintained.

New Board Members and Staff Join the Latino Center of the Midlands

On March 22, the Latino Center of

the Midlands held its Annual Board

Meeting and welcomed new officers

and members to its board of direc-

tors.

The 2016 board officers are Julissa

Lara, President; Carlos Cabrera-

Escalier, Vice President; Yvonne

Sosa, Secretary; and, Brian Gross,

Treasurer. In the last five months,

we’ve had new members join: Maria

Beatriz Carrasco, Caroline Hinrichs,

Sara A. McCue, and Lina Traslaviña-

Stover. All board members play a

critical function in providing strategic

leadership and support to the mis-

sion of the center.

A reception followed the annual

meeting and special guest, Dr. Jona-

than Benjamin-Alvarado (Assistant

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs,

UNO) provided the welcome remarks.

Special recognition was given to im-

mediate past-president, Yvonne Sosa

for her leadership and years of ser-

vice to the LCM as board president.

Equally important this spring is the

hire of two new staff members to the

Adult Basic Education (ABE) program:

Jorge Izquierdo, GED Specialist and

Elvia Robledo, English as a Second

Language (ESL) instructor. Both will

support the ABE program as it works

to create more bridges to opportuni-

ties for the Spanish speaking immi-

grant adult learner.

Welcome board members & staff!

Destino Dinner 2016

Monday, July 25

5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

501auctions.com/destino

Save the Date!

Yvonne Sosa,

Immediate Past President.

SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER

The Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA) Program Empowers Women Through First Annual Event, “Un Día Para Ti, Mujer.”

The Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA) program held its first annual

women’s event, Un Dia Para Ti, Mujer (A Day for You, Woman) on Saturday, March 19 at

Spring Lake Magnet Center. The event included workshops on the topics of empower-

ment, communication, and finances and its purpose was to create opportunities for Lati-

na women to be empowered and serve as role models and leaders at home and the

community. The event was made possible through sponsorship support from Veridian

Credit Union.

City of Omaha Mayor, Jean Stothert, and Guadalupe Sanchez Salazar of the Mexican

Consulate in Omaha, provided the welcome remarks. Workshop presentations were

provided by Boys Town, Justice for Our Neighbors Nebraska, Veridian Credit Union, and

the Women’s Center for Advancement. Blanca Zermeño, client of the CSTA program,

served as the lunch keynote speaker. “It was very important for me to share my person-

al story with the women in attendance. There was a period of my life where I felt very

hopeless and did not know where to turn to for help. It was not until I decided to fight for

myself and the stability of my family that I sought support from the community.

Continued on page 3

Pictured above: participants of the first annual, Un Día Para Ti,

Mujer held at Spring Lake Magnet Center on March 19.

A Window of Educational Opportunities Opens Up for the Latino Immigrant Community in Omaha

Latino Center of the Midlands is excited to announce its new partnership with the Mexican

Consulate in Omaha to provide a “Ventanilla de Oportunidades Educativas” (Window of

Educational Opportunities). The Ventanilla provides Mexican nationals and other Spanish-

speaking Latino immigrants with information on educational programs and other resources

available in the community.

This initiative is part of the Consejo Consultivo del Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior

(CCIME), which is led in Omaha by Consul Guadalupe Sanchez Salazar and other community

-based organizations to promote education, health, and culture among the Latino commu-

nity. Latino Center of the Midlands is honored to be part of CCIME. Latino Center of the

Midlands’ Executive Director, Carolina Quezada, is the agency’s representative on the

counsel.

The LCM staffs the Ventanilla every Friday between 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Mexican Consu-

late office located at 7444 Farnam Street in Omaha. For more information, please contact

Raul Muñoz, Adult Basic Education Director, at rmunoz@latinocenterofthemidlands.org

Job Fair Helps Bridge Opportunities Between Adult Learners and Omaha Employers

The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program held its first annual Job Fair on Saturday,

February 13. Representatives from CINTAS, Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative,

Job Corps, Owen Industries, PRO Advantage Cleaning Solutions, Inc., Union Pacific, UPS,

and Ways to Work were on-site to provide information and job opportunities to our

clients. The event was free and open to the public and hosted more than 100 partici-

pants. Attendees included clients of the Latino Center of the Midlands as well as our ABE

students from the GED and Computer Literacy programs.

Employers shared information about their current job openings, employee training oppor-

tunities, scholarships for higher education, and accepted job applications on-site. The

fair was organized by our ABE and Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA)

programs as part of our efforts to create more bridges for opportunities. CSTA also

assists ABE students with completing job applications, conducting online job searches,

and creating resumes. Together, both programs also conduct career fairs during the year

to help align students with career advancement opportunities.

For more information on participating or exhibiting in a job fair, please contact Raul

Muñoz, ABE Program Director at rmunoz@latinocenterofthemidlands.org.

Latino Center of the Midlands wishes to thank all the

employers who helped kick-off our first job fair of the year!

Page 2

The Mexican Consulate in Omaha. Image URL:

http://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/omaha/index.php/consulado

Continued from page 2..The Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA) Program Empowers Women Through First Annual Event, “Un Día Para Ti, Mujer.”

The services that I received from the Latino Center of the Midlands have been invalu-

able to me. I have accessed many services there, and with their support, I obtained

my GED and I am now a U.S. citizen,” said Zermeño.

For women like Jackeline Cobarruvias, the event was an opportunity to learn about

available resources in the community. “Many times as Latina women, we lack the

resources or knowledge to help us open doors to opportunities. Many doors were

closed in my face because I did not know what was available in the community.

Through these types of events, we learn where doors are opened for us and where we

can turn to for help,” said Cobarruvias.

In its first annual event, the Latino Center of the Midlands hosted 33 women and

hopes to increase attendance by 2017. For more information about the CSTA pro-

gram contact Reyna Vallecillo, Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA)

Program Specialist at rvallecillo@latinocenterofthemidlands.org.

Exploring Leadership Potential by Building on Strengths

Expanding Parental Engagement for Student Success

Research shows that parents’ active involvement in their child’s education has been positively

linked to achievement, student attitudes and social behavior. The Pathways to Success (P2S)

program employs parental engagement as one of the strategies in working with students to im-

prove school attendance rates. The activities that the program focuses on to increase parental

engagement include bimonthly family night events, ongoing contact through phone calls and

home visits, connecting families with community resources, and facilitating communication

between the family and school. A new position is being added to the Pathways to Success team

this spring to bolster parent engagement efforts.

The Family Strengthening Coach will be a part of a team of professionals whose aim is to increase

youth and parental engagement in order to realize positive and lasting outcomes for young people

in our community. The Coach’s primary role will be to provide comprehensive family support

services including advocacy, case management, school involvement strategies, skill building, link-

age and referrals to community-based organizations for families served in the P2S program. This

position will implement key activities including the family strengthening model, “Cara y Corazon,”

developed by the National Compadres Network with parents and guardians of P2S participants.

In addition to facilitating the curriculum in a group setting, this position will also work hand in

hand with P2S team members to engage parents in academic action plans of their students. For

more information about the Family Strengthening Coach position, please contact Melissa Mayo,

Program and Evaluation Director, at mmayo@latinocenterofthemidlands.org.

Pictured from left to right: Guadalupe Sanchez Salazar

(Mexican Consulate in Omaha), Blanca Zermeño (CSTA client

and lunch keynote speaker), and City of Omaha Mayor, Jean

Stothert.

SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER Page 3

This spring, our Pathways to Success (P2S) program is focusing on building the unique

strengths of students by incorporating a new tool, the Gallup’s StrengthsExplorer assess-

ment. This tool identifies each student’s three strongest emerging talents. The assess-

ment includes explanations of these three talents, strategies to encourage growth, and

action items to help students and their parents leverage strengths in the classroom and

in life.

P2S students completed the web-based assessment in February and March during

lunch and learn sessions. In upcoming activities, students will learn more about their

top strengths, which include descriptions of his or her areas of natural talent. Program

staff is going to take this a step further by implementing activities that help students

explore their leadership strength. Gallup groups strengths in four leadership domains:

executing, influencing, relationship building, and strategic thinking. In future sessions,

students will learn about their dominant leadership style and how to leverage this in the

classroom, in peer relationships, and in the community. Beyond leadership, students

will also discover how to use their strengths when identifying future career interests.

These activities will help guide students to different career clusters that align with their

strengths.

We are excited about the opportunity to build on the talents

of our P2S students to help guide them toward career

interests!

For more information, contact Melissa Mayo,

Program & Evaluation Director, at

mmayo@latinocenterofthemidlands.org

Pictured from left to right: Bellevue West High

School P2S student, Xiomara Mora with her

mother, Alma Mora.

Mobile

Text LATINOCENTER to 22828

Facebook

Facebook.com/latinocenterofthemidlands

(click on “subscribe to our mailing list”)

Online

www.latinocenterofthemidlands.org

(click on the “Connect” button under Center Spotlight)

SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER

2016 Board of Directors

President Julissa Lara

Mutual of Omaha

Vice President Carlos Cabrera-Escalier

Holland Basham Architects

Secretary Yvonne Sosa

Douglas County Public Defenders Office

Treasurer Brian Gross

Illuminate Financial

Maria Beatriz Carrasco

Omaha Steaks International

Oscar Gonzalez

First National Bank of Omaha

Caroline Hinrichs

BVH Architects

Sara A. McCue

Baird Holm LLP

Nick Rodriguez

Cox Communications

Lina Traslaviña Stover

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Staff Roster

Executive Director Carolina Quezada

Administrative Services Coordinator Silvia Velez

Communications and Donor Relations Associate Juliana Garza

Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program Raul Munoz, Program Director

Jose Aguilar, GED Armando Allende, GED

Leticia Crisman, Literacy Jorge Izquierdo, GED

Alicia James, ESL/GED Elvia Robledo, ESL Octavio Sordo, GED

Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA) Program

Socorro Adrada, CSTA Specialist Rosana Perri, Receptionist

Reyna Vallecillo, CSTA Specialist

Pathways to Success (P2S) Program Melissa Mayo, Program and Evaluation Director

Carmen Chagolla, Student Advocate, Bryan High School Mahatma Largaespada, Student Advocate, Bellevue West High School

Maria Guadalupe Marquez, Joven Noble Facilitator Melvin Ramirez, Student Advocate, South High School

Page 4

The Community Services and Technical Assistance (CSTA) program kicked off the month of May

with its annual fund drive! Funds raised by CSTA during the month of May will directly impact the

lives of more than 1,500 clients this year. CSTA provides high-quality, comprehensive social service

assistance, outreach and advocacy services for the Latino community of the greater Omaha area.

Here’s how you can support our work!

Make an online donation via PayPal by visiting our website.

Support the Latino Center of the Midlands during Omaha Gives! on Wednesday, May 25. Visit our

profile page at omahagives24.org or click here to learn more.

Send a check by mail to Latino Center of the Midlands, 4821 S. 24th Street, Omaha, NE 68107

4821 S. 24th Street

Omaha, NE 68107

Phone (402) 733-2720 Fax (402) 733-6720

info@latinocenterofthemidlands.org

Support our mission! Donate to the CSTA May 2016 Fund Drive!

Omaha Gives! 2015 Donors