The Giving Circle of the NWA Hispanic Leadership Council Gives Awards to Local Community Programs

BENTONVILLE, Ark., (December 8, 2021) – The NWA Hispanic Leadership Council (NWA HLC) and its Giving Circle awarded grants to local nonprofits and celebrated their contributions to the community. The event served to recognize the work local organizations do in improving the life of Hispanics in the region as well as to recognize the power of individual philanthropy. The awards were giving to Rogers High School for the Newcomer Welcome Program; OneCommunity for the Parents Take Leadership Action (PTLA) Kids Program; and to the Hispanic’s Women Organization of Arkansas (HWOA) for the Scholarship Program. The event counted with the participation of representatives from nonprofits, as well as leaders in education and community advocacy.

A giving circle is a group of people who pool their resources in order to collectively contribute to issues they deem important to their community. Giving circles provide individual donors the opportunity to make their contributions meaningful by leveraging their resources with others and enhancing the impact of their giving. “Giving circles offer members a forum to learn about community issues alongside like-minded individuals and become more informed philanthropists”, said Gabriela Velasco, Director at the NWA HLC and Giving Circle member. “We received applications from organizations that have programs focused on education, entrepreneurship and other disciplines. It is amazing the work being done by these organizations, with such commitment and love,” she added. This is the third year the NWA HLC Giving Circle award funds and has been able to grow the awards as more committed individuals seeking to make a difference in our community join in. “Philanthropy is for all, and we are proud of the generosity of our members. We look forward to continuing growing our Circle to support more programs,” added Gabriela.

A $4,000 grant was given to Rogers High School to support the Newcomer Welcome Program. “Rogers High School educators are seeing an influx of new students that move to the US without knowing the culture, education system, or the language. Our goal for the Newcomer Welcome Program is to provide these students and their families with a safe space to cultivate a sense of belonging and guide them through their transition into the United States education system. We plan to use these funds to host small groups and events to provide our students and their families with information, resources, and support”, said Carilia Nuñez, Bilingual School Counselor at Rogers High School. The program is being spearheaded by her and by Student Success Coordinator, Leo Hernandez.

OneCommunity received $2,000 for their PTLA Kids Program. The PTLA initiative complements the Springdale School District’s existing Family Literacy Program, which allows parents to invest up to ten hours a week in their children’s school learning English, spend time in their child’s classroom, and learn about community resources. Additionally, the Hispanic’s Women Organization of Arkansas was awarded $1,000 for their Scholarship program. “We are humbled and honored to be selected for this award. This award will be implemented into our HWOA Scholarship Program. Through this program HWOA promotes higher education among the Latino community with an emphasis on first generation college attendees. We hope to serve more families this coming year (2022) through FAFSA assistance days and scholarships,” indicated Rebeca Soto, Development Officer at HWOA.

The Giving Circle of the NWA Hispanic Leadership Council invites members of the community to become part of the Circle by making annual or recurring donations here. Members of the Giving Circle have the opportunity to determine where their funds will be utilized and their donations may be tax deductible. Nonprofit organizations with programs serving the Hispanic community in Benton and Washington counties are invited to apply for the annual grants each year, when applications open in the Fall.










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