CJ Weekly Alert s2

CJ Weekly Alert July 1 - 8, 2008

The weekly bulletin Alert is issued by Creciendo Juntos – Growing Together. Its purpose is to help people use and participate in the CJ website, network and related activities in support of outreach to and integration of the Latino community in Charlottesville, Albemarle, and surrounding areas.

Previous Alerts are located at http://www.cj-network.org/cjintro/alerts.html

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CONTENTS

A - THIS WEEK’S MEETINGS, EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

B - LOOKING FOR PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES? CHECK OUT BLUE RIDGE COMMONS

C - BILINGUAL EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT

D - THE SPAIN ON MAIN: FALL ENROLLMENT STARTS JULY 8

E - WHAT’S NEW IN THE NEWS? HARRISONBURG FREE CLINIC DENIES SERVICES TO UNDOCUMENTED

F - NO CJ PLENARIES IN JULY & AUGUST

G - UPCOMING MEETINGS, EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

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A – THIS WEEK’S MEETINGS, EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

For more information about these and other announcements, visit http://www.cj- network.org/comm_ann.html or write/call the contact.

Monday, July 7, 2008: Health Promoter Working Group Meeting. 9 am at SHE’s Administrative Office, 1410 Sachem Place (by Albemarle High). For more info visit http://www.cj- network.org/cjwgm/health.html or contact [email protected]

Tuesday, July 8, 2008: CJ Executive Committee Meeting. 4 – 5 pm at PHA. Contact [email protected]

Sign Up Your Latina Girls for the Girl Scouts! The Girl Scouts would like to expand its membership to include Latina girls. While all Latina girls are invited, Girl Scouts is especially interested in Latina girls in grades 2nd – 4th and is planning meetings for them from July 14 – 17, at the Church of the Incarnation, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Leontyne Peck at [email protected] or 296-5156 ext 6

Employment & Volunteer Opportunities: Bilingual Americorps Vista Position (Coordinator of Hispanic Outreach at Abundant Life); English Tutor Volunteers for Thursday Evenings (for Abundant Life); Bilingual Housing Counselor (Piedmont Housing Alliance); Bilingual Volunteer for Girl Scouts. **********************

B - LOOKING FOR PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES? CHECK OUT BLUE RIDGE COMMONS

Creciendo Juntos (CJ) promotes and supports partnering initiatives serving the Latino population, like the Latina “mom’s group” at Word of Faith Church and the literacy and English playgroups at Southwood, made possible vis-à-vis a partnership sharing bilingual, infrastructure, expertise and other resources.

Blue Ridge Commons is a Prospect Avenue housing complex comprising some 140 units, 20% of them housing Latino families. It includes the Blue Ridge Commons Recreation Center that, among other activities, coordinates after school and summer programs for children. The Center’s Colleen Berry invites agencies and individuals to contact her at 220-3704 or at [email protected] to explore mutual interests in partnering with the Center to enhance outreach and services to Latino children and families by building on existing programs or starting up new ones, and/or to organize other activities that cultivate cultural sensitivity/awareness among the diverse populations at Blue Ridge Commons.

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C - BILINGUAL EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT

Jamie Ferrell is a recent graduate of Washington and Lee University with a major in Spanish and concentrations in both Latin American Studies and Poverty Studies. She has extensive volunteer experience working with immigrant and Latino populations both in Lexington and in Texas. Jamie wants to move to Charlottesville for the next year or two while she goes through the Foreign Service selection process. For more information, contact Jamie at: 540-460-0444 or [email protected]

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D - THE SPAIN ON MAIN: FALL ENROLLMENT STARTS JULY 8

“Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, Spain on Main is a Spanish school with a fun, modern twist offering an ever-increasing variety of classes and cultural events.” Its fall enrollment starts July 8 and includes:

¿Qué tal?: Conversational Spanish and/or Early Morning Spanish for Beginners

Cine Chat: Int/Advanced Conversation+Culture

Spanish Language/Culture for Travelers

Tertulia – Conversation Hour!

Private Lessons

Discounts

“Spain on Main students are a delightful mix of age ranges, professional backgrounds and interests. Recent classes have included singles, full-time parents, grad students, retired folk, a band manager, a contractor, a professor, a veterinarian, a realtor, a wine consultant and a home- schooled teenager. Clearly we all share the same desire to speak Spanish and learn more about hispanic cultures….and ourselves!” For more information, visit http://spainonmain.com or email [email protected]

Other opportunities to learn/practice Spanish – some no-cost – are located at http://www.cj- network.org/learn_sp.html

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E- WHAT’S NEW IN THE NEWS? HARRISONBURG FREE CLINIC DENIES SERVICES TO UNDOCUMENTED

The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic is now requiring that all people seeking treatment provide documentation that they are in the country legally. The move has undocumented immigrants looking for ways to ensure they still receive health treatment.

Rick Castaneda and other members of the Harrisonburg Hispanic Services Council are working with the clinic to find interim treatment for illegal immigrants, or even get the board to change its decision. Creciendo Juntos’ Peter Loach sent an email to support HSC efforts that included a public meeting with the Free Clinic last week:

Thank you for informing the public about the meeting today regarding the Harrisonburg Rockingham Free Clinic, and its possible decision to deny health care services to individuals that cannot prove their immigration status. Since I am unable to come to the meeting and share my views personally, I wanted to at least write briefly to communicate that I find this policy decision by the Harrisonburg Rockingham Free Clinic very disturbing and contrary to the public health mission that such free clinics were founded upon. As a Member of the Governor’s Virginia Latino Advisory Board, I am not authorized to make public statements on behalf of the Board, but I can assure all that members of the Board will in large part share my concerns. This only to say that many Virginian’s throughout the Commonwealth hope that the Free Clinic can take a hard look at this policy and reconsider such a dramatic decision, for the betterment of the community it serves and to avoid the precedent it would represent for similar decisions statewide.

For a media article on the situation, visit: http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/22797694.html

To offer support, email HSC via Sylvia Whitney at [email protected]

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F – NO CJ PLENARIES IN JULY & AUGUST

In response to requests to not have plenaries during the summer months due to vacations, Creciendo Juntos will not have a plenary (monthly activity) in July and August.

Plenaries will start up again in September. For a list of fall plenaries, visit: http://www.cj- network.org/nxt_mtg.html For more details on them, visit http://www.cj- network.org/comm_ann.html

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G - UPCOMING MEETINGS, EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

Unless indicated, the following are free and open to the public. For more information on these and other meetings, events, and opportunities (bilingual professionals looking for work or job openings), visit http://www.cj-network.org/comm_ann.html Saturday, July 12, 2008: Job Fair for Latinos (Richmond). 10:00am - 3:00pm at the Arthur Ashe Center, 3001 North Blvd Richmond, VA 23220. http://feriajobfair.com or http://www.vahcc.com

July 16 - 19, 2008: Volunteer At The Hispanic Youth Symposium (Richmond). Contact: 1-- 800-644-4223 (toll-free) or [email protected] Information about the HYS is located at http://www.hispanicyouth.org

Sunday, July 20, 2008: Low Cost ($10) Sports Physicals for Latinos living in Charlottesville & Albemarle County. For more information (in Spanish), contact Ivonne López at: 434/962-1041.

Monday, July 21, 2008: Health Promoter Working Group Meeting. 9 am at SHE’s Administrative Office, 1410 Sachem Place (by Albemarle High). For more info visit http://www.cj- network.org/cjwgm/health.html or contact [email protected]

Tuesday, August 5, 2008: CJ Executive Committee Meeting. 4 – 5 pm at PHA. Contact [email protected]

Monday, August 11, 2008: Health Promoter Working Group Meeting. 9 am at SHE’s Administrative Office, 1410 Sachem Place (by Albemarle High). For more info visit http://www.cj- network.org/cjwgm/health.html or contact [email protected]

Monday, August 25, 2008: Health Promoter Working Group Meeting. 9 am at SHE’s Administrative Office, 1410 Sachem Place (by Albemarle High). For more info visit http://www.cj- network.org/cjwgm/health.html or contact [email protected]

Monday September 8, 2008: Health Promoter Working Group Meeting. 9 am at SHE’s Administrative Office, 1410 Sachem Place (by Albemarle High). For more info visit http://www.cj- network.org/cjwgm/health.html or contact [email protected]

Tuesday, September 9, 2008: CJ Executive Committee Meeting. 4 – 5 pm at PHA. Contact [email protected]

Wednesday, September 10, 2008: Learning from, Contributing to, and Networking with the Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Girls Scouts. 10-11:30 am, Albemarle County Building on 5th Street Extd. Free – Public Invited. Contact: [email protected]

Tuesday, October 7, 2008: CJ Executive Committee Meeting. 4 – 5 pm at PHA. Contact [email protected]

Thursday, October 9, 2008: Immigration Raids & Latino Children. 10-11:30 am, Albemarle County Building on 5th Street Extd. Free – Public Invited. Contact: [email protected]

Tuesday, November 11, 2008: CJ Executive Committee Meeting. 4 – 5 pm at PHA. Contact [email protected]

Thursday, November 13, 2008: CJ Workshop: AIDS/HIV in The Latino Community. 10-11:30 am, Albemarle County Building on 5th Street Extd. Free – Public Invited. Contact: at [email protected] or [email protected]

NOTE: CJ Plenaries - Calendar Year 2008: Plenaries are scheduled for the second Thursday of every month, from 10 – 11:30 am, in Room A of the Albemarle County Office Building on 5th Street Extended (exit 120 off of 64 or 5 minutes from UVA Stadium via JPA/Old Lynchburg). ***********************

This Alert was prepared by Linda Hemby of the CJ Executive Committee. Individuals and organizations wishing to maximize their use of the CJ network should submit their information/announcement/request/etc. on the Friday before the Alert is circulated to: [email protected]

The Creciendo Juntos – Growing Together online clearinghouse, located at www.cj-network.org , is constantly being updated with new information and resources. If you work for or know about services available to our Latino community that are not on the site, please contact [email protected] Also welcomed are articles, studies, and other resources about and for our local Latino population.

Peter W. Loach Deputy Director of Operations Piedmont Housing Alliance 111 Monticello Avenue, Suite 104 Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 Tel. (434) 817-2436 x116 Cel. (434) 409-2753 Fax. (434) 817-0664