E Newsletter

March/April 2008 E-Newsletter

Are you a professional, amateur or even hobbyist photographer? Consider donating one of your favorite candids to Latinitas for our 3rd Annual Fotos de Mi Alma auction taking place at Copa Bar and Restaurant on April 23rd.

Submissions should reflect Latino life and should be sent or delivered to Latinitas headquarters by April 15th. Interested photographers should email latinitasfotos@ yahoo.com or call 512.322.9947.

in this issue

1. Call for Fotos!
2. Best (Buy) Latinitas Spring Break Camp Eva!
3. Bachelor Auction: Hunks Helped Hermanitas
4. Program Leaders Enhance Latinitas Clubs
5. Latinitas Names New Board Chair
6. Latinitas Helps Expand Horizons
7. Latinitas Awards State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant
8. Otra Gracias

Latinitas held it's first Spring Break camp March 10th-14th. Girls enjoyed cultural and media activities that included trick photography (below) to producing their own magazine television show titled, "Chisme."

Latinitas thanks Best Buy staff from all over the city for their generous support of volunteer help and mentorship.

Registration for Latinitas summer camps is open at the MACC by calling 512.478.6222.

Latinitas Camper attempts to ingest Best Buy volunteer Juan Acevedo using trick photography

2008 LATINITAS SUMMER CAMP SCHEDULE:

Session #1 June 2-13
Writing & Photography Mavens

Session #2 July 7-18
Video & Radio Superstars

Session #3 July 28-Aug. 8
Design & Web Divas

Latinitas Chloe "La Guera" bonds with Best Buy Volunteers Hope Baeza and Jennifer Gonzales

Bachelor/Fiction Author and Screenplay Writer David Rice with Latinitas COO, Laura Donnelly

Austin's chapter of American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) raised over $22,000 total at their annual Sweetheart Bachelor Auction on Feb. 13th at Vicci Bar. Latinitas was the fortunate beneficiary of this event.

"This was the most money raised since the auction's inception," said event co-chair Esmerelda Arzola. "Expenses, etc. aside - Latinitas will be granted a large donation sum at our gala event in April."

Latinitas thanks the numerous brave bachelors who signed on especially our nominations: Starlite chef Josh Hines, METV on-air host Paul Saucido and fiction and screen play writer David Rice.

“I was sitting at Starlite restaurant minding my own business. Laura Donnelly busted in and said ‘You will be a bachelor for Latinitas!’ explained Rice.

I jumped out of my chair and ran out of the restaurant. I got about two blocks down the street and then Laura tackled me to the ground”.

Embellishing his recruitment a bit, Rice was part of a team of exciting, accomplished handsome men who were paired with prize packages consisting of gift certificates to Austin ’s finest restaurants, spas, events and even a piloted flight over the city. A silent auction was also held featuring more gifts.

When asked why he would parade on stage for charity, he explained:

"Events like this are fun and doable because they support the great non-profits in Austin making change." said Rice.

Latinitas thanks AWRT and event donors such as Austin Sports Bikes, Bird's Barbershop, Castle Hill Fitness trainer Corey Laurel, Flipnotics, Fresh Esthetics skin care, Path Salon, Shag Salon, Tito's Handmake Vodka, Vandry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Vitali Salon and Zen Shiatsu Bodywork.

At 18 programs and growing in East, Northeast, South and Southeast Austin and now Round Rock, Latinitas is becoming a household word in Central Texas.

Each Latinitas club maintains its own personality - depending on club make-up.

"Our bilingual volunteers have been so valuable this year, " says Latinitas COO Laura Donnelly. "There are still a considerable amount of girls less fearful of writing or conversing in Spanish."

Donnelly explains that the club has a gentle formula for encouraging English language arts skills in the activities.

Program leaders, such as Leslie Guerrero, are truly excited about the girls' willingness to work as a team.

“They are so quick and they work together so fast,” she said.

Guerrero, a massage therapist and substitute teacher, is a volunteer program leader working with the Ann Richards School for Young Woman Leaders.

This month her 6th and 7th grade girls will execute a business plan involving family photography.

Doing research, getting investors, and creating business cards were only a few things these girls completed in March.

Latinitas Club Members: East Austin

Latinitas Club Members: South Austin

Guerrero says Club helps shape young Latina ’s awareness of the world in which they live by having them notice differences in media perception and learn to filter what is acceptable to them and what is not. She sees girls learning to work together, share ideas, gain confidence in technology, and apply the ability of assessing information. Guerrero hopes that these girls will lead the community and share with the people outside their community what great things are happening within it.

After a wonderful tenure by Latinitas long-time mentor and board chair Dr. Federico Subervi that included leadership of the magazine's genesis, the origin and development of its outreach divisions and its overall promotion to a national audience, the torch is being handed over to newly elected board chair: Bibi Lobo.

A Cuban immigrant to the United States, Lobo has dedicated her career to increasing opportunities for success for all children first as a teacher and later as the founder of the National Latino Children’s Institute.

At NLCI, Lobo was instrumental in guiding NLCI’s research of youth issues, and provided the leadership for youth involvement in policy and program development. She served as the vice president from 1997-2004. She was the lead author on five premier programs at NLCI focused on child passenger safety, fire safety, making good choices for teens, healthy lifestyles and early brain development for Latinos parents of preschool children.

One of her favorite projects at NLCI was the milagros exhibit. Created by NLCI in its early days, the milagros offer young people a way to express their wishes, hopes, and dreams -certainly a pre-cursor to her work with Latinitas which began when she was appointed to the board of directors in 2005.

Studying international relations and public policy at Michigan State University, Lobo latered graduated with a bachelors in social work from the University of Texas in Austin.

In addition to her work at NCLI, she served as President of the Austin Association for the Education of Young Children and participated in numerous leadership activities, in Washington D.C. and around the country. She also worked at the Corporate Fund for Children for six years. During that time, she established a clearinghouse, managed a statewide federally-funded scholarship program and directed the Children’s Legislative Links, a statewide advocacy network.

In addition to her policy work and teaching, Lobo is an experienced trainer and has given presentations at numerous state and national conferences.

Latinitas board chair: Bibi Lobo

Lobo's published works include Mi Casa Es Su Casa, a professional development curriculum for Spanish-speaking family child care providers; and Scholastic, Inc.’s Early Childhood Workshop, a nine-month curriculum correlated to the Texas Standards for early childhood and adopted by three fourths of Texas public pre-schools.

Lobo's credentials carry into media as a creator of outreach coordinator workshops for PBS’s American Family and Liberty’s Kids.

Still commited to the Las Comadres network in Austin, Lobo has also served on numerous committees and boards at the state and national levels, including the National Center for the Early Childhood Workforce and the board of Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklórico de Texas. She is a 1997 alumna of the National Hispana Leadership program and served on that board for six years.

Lobo has brought thoughful strategizing and years of curriculum development experience to Latinitas. She has been integral in growing the Latinitas board and circulating Latinitas' accomplishments into a national dialogue, while remaining connected to Latinitas grass-roots identity by acting as a guest speaker for Latinitas after school clubs, participating in outreach workshops and cultivating new and exciting fundraising endeavors. Latinitas is so pleased to have her in this new capacity and grateful for past leadership, as well.

On March 29th, Latinitas will assist GirlStart with their annual Expanding Your Horizons conference at the University of Texas. Latinitas will be donating its media training skills to provide a workshop titled Radio Chica, the basics of sound production.

Latinitas was one of only 100 winners from all over the country acknowledged with a State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant for its leadership and commitment to engage youth in service-learning.

The grant requires agencies to mobilize youth to identity and address the needs of their communities through service and support them in their efforts and educate the public.

Latinitas will be mobilizing its 18 after school clubs in Austin to select a service project per club. Girls will be encouraged to do anything from collecting supplies for the local battered women's shelter to cleaning up their school campuses. The girls will produce public service announcements with radio and video to describe and promote their efforts.

Thank you to IKEA and its volunteers Letty Steward and Christina Patino for bringing food and wonderful gift bags to the girls enrolled in Latinitas first Spring Break camp! Your contribution was appreciated all week long.

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Latinitas, Inc. is an Austin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Hispanic girls in media and technology. We accomplish this by publishing a bilingual webzine for Hispanic girls, hosting innovative media workshops in the community, and facilitating an after-school program for junior reporters.