We are excited to announce that long time El Centro de la Raza teacher Mari Rico was promoted to Director of our new Jose Marti Child Development Center at Cedar Crossing! This year marks Mari’s 25th year with us! The new 6,443 SF multi-cultural, bilingual affordable child development center will serve 68 children at Cedar Crossing. Congratulations to Mari for this well deserved honor!
While working full-time, Mari obtained her Child Developmental Associate’s (CDA) degree at Seattle Central Community College, and her Associate in Applied Arts and Sciences (AAAS) with a specialization in Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Shoreline Community College. She then completed a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Education from the Praxis Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Master’s Degree from Goddard College.
Under Mari’s supervision, the Luis Alfonso Velásquez Afterschool Program achieved accreditation from the National Afterschool Association in 2008. In 2018, School’s Out Washington recognized Mari with its Champion Award. As a STARS state-approved trainer and Early Childhood Education coach, she also trains other teachers in the field.
When asked how she manages to teach and find time to learn, innovate, and contribute to her field, she said it makes her job easier. Teaching as a profession is constantly evolving; everything from toys to technology is continually changing, and staying ahead of the curve is important to meet students where they are.
In line with our goal to expand affordable housing, bring child care development centers and other social services to the Federal Way area, El Centro de la Raza has purchased Pattison’s West Skating Center. We have lovingly named it El Centro Skate Rink. We thought it important to link our entity, El Centro, to the space, and to keep Rink in the name to continue to welcome people in the skating community!
Pattison’s West Skating Rink was slated to close, but El Centro de la Raza, which already has an office at the site, bought the venue because of the positive impact it has in the community.
“The rink brings the community and families together and creates jobs for area youth, so we saw it as an essential piece of our plans,” said Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza. “It is not just about the community center and affordable housing. The rink is a local cultural fixture that we see as part of our overall efforts to bring services to the area.”
Ortega stressed that the development in Federal Way will support all small businesses to set up shop at the location. Plans also include social services and the development of a mercado, or market, for small businesses and entrepreneurs to sell their products.
The complex will be built in phases, which will include construction of a total of 208 affordable housing units. The community center will include youth services and space for artists. It is located at the intersection of Pacific Highway South and 16th Ave. S.
Funding for the development is expected to come from the state of Washington, federal funds, a loan from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, and other sources. Construction is expected to begin in 2025.
The Federal Way project is not the first large project El Centro de la Raza has undertaken. Plaza Maestas, a mixed-use building in Seattle containing 112 affordable housing units, an early learning, and office and retail space, was built in 2016.
The organization is also getting close to completing fundraising for another affordable housing development in Columbia City. That $58-million, family-oriented building will have 87 apartments, most of which will be two-and three-bedroom units. It will also provide community services and will have murals by local artists.
“Affordable housing development is new to community-based organizations and communities of color,” Ortega said. “When community-based organizations develop affordable housing and services, it creates stability for the organizations, communities, and other good things begin to happen.”
Our Cedar Crossing Development Continues
We are currently building our team at our Jose Marti Child Development Center and are pleased to share updated photos of the 6,443 sf. multi-cultural, bilingual affordable child development center we are developing on site, with capacity to serve 68 children at Cedar Crossing!
We were able to expand our offering to the area through the generous support of our donors, the City of Seattle Human Services Department, the State of Washington Department of Commerce, and the Washington Community Reinvestment Association.
We could not do this without you all, mil gracias!
Grand opening of Si Se Puede Academy on October 27
El Centro de la Raza is excited and open their doors to the Si Se Puede Academy in Federal Way!
This program will provide youth between the ages of 18 and 21 years of age who have not completed their secondary education a pathway to obtain their GED certification. Without your support, we could not have launched this initiative, and we would love to celebrate this feat with you at our grand opening!
El Centro De La Raza seeks to provide a culturally affirming track toward GED completion. Centering representative curriculum facilitated by staff who reflect those served and provides pre-apprentice and post-secondary options.
Si Se Puede Academy will implement holistic strategies to ensure completion and place ‘jovenes’ on a path towards meaningful careers with livable wages.
Celebrating 50 years of Building the Beloved Community
Mil gracias for those who gathered with us to celebrate 50 years of El Centro de la Raza with us on October 8th. It was beautiful to be able to gather with so many of you again, and to see some of you even tuning in virtually – what a joyous occasion it was!
We raised over $560,000 for vital programs and services that improve the lives of more than 22,000 individuals and families across our region.Proceeds from the gala will strengthen and grow our work, which includes feeding the hungry, helping a family make rent, empowering students to graduate from high school and attend college, and supporting our immigrant community.
Attendees heard inspiring words from Governor Inslee and Thomas Saenz from MALDEF and joined us in honoring so many others who have helped make El Centro de la Raza the space we know and love. Congratulations again to our Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Award and Scholarship recipients. Each of them embody the spirit of “Beloved Community,” and are on working building multi-racial unity and advocating for communities of color and immigrants through their social justice work.
Our Navigation Program Team assists families by providing a variety of resources to meet their needs. If you can donate any of the items below, that will help our Navigators assemble basic needs kits ready for families in our Navigation Program who are facing housing uncertainty. Please see the list below or place orders via our Amazon List:
Ultimamente, nuestras familias se enfrentan con gran incertidumbre en encontrar alojamiento. Si puede donar algunos de los siguientes artículos, sería una tremenda ayuda!
Vea la lista aquí o en Amazon:
Our Navigation Program has about 20 families this month with the needs below.
Recibimos pedidos de 20 familias cada mes de los siguientes artículos.
The Navigation Team appreciates you and your efforts. Please contact Daniela Lizarraga for donation coordination at (206) 957-4647 or dlizarraga@elcentrodelaraza.org.
Today, Judge Vargas oversees a department of over 110 employees, including attorneys, supervisors, investigators, social workers, paralegals, and legal assistants. She made sure the department made major changes to be able to continue to serve the public virtually during the pandemic. In fact, King County Court emerged as a national leader in adopting technology to maintain access to justice
Part of her success was logistical- she communicated internal changes as they unfolded with her teams. Another part of her success was cultural, according to her colleague, Judge Veronica Galván, who went to the same high school as Judge Vargas. She describes it as the belief that with effort, anything is possible. The work ethic that says, Echale ganas. Give it your all.
Judge Vargas gave it her all for 18 years as a public defender. She gravitated towards cases with families involved in the At-Risk Youth/CHINS/and Truancy system. She knew first-hand how people in under-resourced communities can fall through the cracks. These cracks were amplified during the pandemic, especially for families who already had less access to childcare support, healthcare or typical 9-5 jobs.
To Judge Galván, a critical factor to succeeding as women of color in a field where they are the minority is to occupy these paces as themselves. This also means bringing an enormous amount of compassion cultivated from seeing what can happen when under-resourced communities do not have support.
“Public defenders have to wade through the morass of allegations and find their humanity and come to face with your own [when you are doing the work of a public defender].” Many times they are working with clients on the worst days of their life, watching the consequences of personal trauma unfolding in the legal system.
We are grateful for the tireless work of bringing compassion to the justice system and celebrate the dedication and excellence of Latin@s like Judge Vargas and Judge Galván.
Our 2022 Legacy Roberto Maestas Legacy Award Honorees
Our founder Roberto Maestas believed that the collective power of people of all races and backgrounds could eradicate poverty, racism, and social inequity when working in concert to build Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Beloved Community.
In his honor, the Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Award recognizes individuals whose work embodies this commitment. El Centro de la Raza is pleased to recognize our 2022 Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Award honorees, Aneelah Afzali and Carlos Jiménez. We will honor the work that they do at our 50th Anniversary Building the Beloved Community Gala this October.
Aneelah Azfali
Aneelah Afzali is a Harvard Law School attorney who left her legal career in 2013 to pursue service and community activism. She is the founder and Executive Director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS-AMEN). MAPS-AMEN strives to bridge gaps between faith and non-faith-based communities, to help increase understanding towards Islam and Muslims, and to build relationships across religious, racial, cultural, and political differences. Serving as a bridge to bring together communities, as well as a passionate and fierce advocate for marginalized groups, Aneelah Afzali has established herself as a powerful justice leader in our community who works day-to-day to combat hate, racism, and violence.
Carlos Jiménez
Carlos Jiménez is a long-term pioneer for social change and advocate for the Latino community in Washington. Jiménez currently serves as the co-founder of Centro Cultural Mexicano, a cultural and enrichment center based out of Redmond, WA that is focused on the needs of the Latino Chicano community. The mission of Centro Cultural is to inspire inclusive participation by the community in all aspects of education, culture, and society by providing opportunities for individuals to create a positive future for themselves and their families. Carlos Jiménez ‘s dedication on the Latino community in King County and his focus on educating and supporting community such that we may all live with dignity and respect echoes the work of Dr. King and his dream of “Beloved Community.”
We won the Nonprofit Softball Championship!
We are officially the 2022 softball champions!!
Representing El Centro de la Raza, a team of current and former employees, friends, children and spouses has won the championship!
In the summertime, we take the opportunity to play on Wednesdays evenings against other nonprofits to build community and enjoy the beautiful weather! Check us out next season!
How we are helping infants at home meet their developmental goals, virtually
We want to share with you a very inspiring story about how a mom’s dedication is transforming her baby’s life through our Parents as Teachers programs. We have found that by offering some of our programs virtually, programs like Parents as Teachers has been able to meet more families, more frequently, and see bigger changes in the lives of families welcoming newborns. We’d love to share with you the impact we are seeing on Jennifer and her two 13-month old babies, in just two months.
Though Jennifer had two healthy pregnancies last year of a twin boy and girl, she signed up for our Parents as Teachers Program to ensure her babies were hitting the developmental milestones they should be.
In June, Alejandrina Gonzalez from our Parents as Teachers program, started working with Jennifer and her babies virtually. In the first, call, Alejandrina observed that the baby boy was having trouble opening his left hand and had not yet started crawling. When Alejandrina checked in about reading activities, Jennifer shared she had trouble reading. At the end of the first video conference, Alejandrina reviewed a few activities that the mother could carry out to encourage the child to crawl.
By the second meeting, Jennifer was so happy to show that her baby had started crawling! As recommended, Jennifer had indeed implemented the activities several times a day. They could already see a marked improvements in his motor abilities.
To make sure that the babies were enjoying interacting with books, Alejandrina recommended that Jennifer tell them about the images. Now it is an activity they share with great joy together.
Jennifer’s willingness and commitment is making a difference in the daily success of her children by developing their skills and promoting an experience-rich environment that supports continuous learning. We applaud her work and commitment!
Let’s get Voting!
With the help of our Navigators, Jorge, a Mexican native voted for the first time after 35 years of living in the United States!
In 2022 Jorge moved to Seattle, WA and finally understood the need and importance to vote after receiving information and guidance from El Centro staff. Jorge was empowered and guided by El Centro’s navigators through the process to register to vote for the first time. Jorge feels like a true American with this opportunity to vote and for his voice to be heard.
Look out for events near you to support getting out the vote this September 20th, national voter registration day! https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/
September 14: Estela Ortega will be throwing the opening pitch at the Mariner’s Game!
Get your tickets here: https://www.mlb.com/mariners/tickets/specials/hispanic-heritage !
September 17-18: Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias 2022
Seattle Center Festál presents Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias in partnership with Sea Mar Community Health Centers.
Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias commemorates the independence of Latin American countries, many of which celebrate their national independence day in the month of September. It is a festival to celebrate history, while taking pride in the new generations of Latinos who now call the United States home.
Throughout the two-day event at Seattle Center, attendees can enjoy delicious traditional Latin American food and cooking demonstrations, live music, traditional folk dance performances, art exhibitions representing Latino culture, free health screenings, children’s activities and more.
We will be there and look forward to seeing you there!
Dates: Saturday, September 17, 2022 starting at 1 PM – 7 PM & Sunday, September 18, 2022 starting at 1 PM – 6 PM
Location: Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109
King County Voter Registration Drive
Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Start Time: 9:00 AM
Addresss: 1511 3rd Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101 US
Host Contact Info: info@lwvskc.org
October 8: Reserve your tickets for our 5oth Anniversary Gala now!
Celebrate 50 triumphant years of El Centro de la Raza with us at our annual Building the Beloved Community Gala on October 8th, 2022. It has been an honor to spend the last half-century dedicating our work towards serving our community, and we have so many people that we are grateful to. We want to dedicate this momentous anniversary year to:
Pioneers of social change, including advocates for mutli-racial unity, shepherds of anti-war movements, local faith communities, volunteers, and activists
The people who originally occupied the old Beacon Hill school in the name of dignity and for a better life for the Latino community
Our generous supporters from all walks of life, who have made it possible for us to continue our work, from 1972 to this present day
It is an honor to still be here today providing critical services, life-changing opportunities, developing resiliency, and hope. We are so fortunate to not only be surviving, but thriving, with all thanks due to our incredible community of supporters, donors, residents, and staff.
Join us on Saturday, October 8, 2022 for our 50th Anniversary Building the Beloved Community Gala and take part in an exciting live event that raises funds for vital programs and services that benefit more than 21,000 individuals and families across our region. The evening also includes the presentation of our Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Awards & Scholarships. Registration will become available later this year.
It has been almost a year since El Centro de la Raza started an Environmental Justice Organizing and Education training with the Plaza Roberto Maestas and El Patio residents that aims to develop and promote environmental justice leadership, education, and community organizing within the Latino Community. The program includes topics such as the environmental justice movement, climate change, air and noise pollution, community organizing and more! Through the program, we aim to enable and empower our community to act as leaders and influence policy makers to improve environmental and health outcomes for Beacon Hill residents as they are disproportionately impacted by surrounding airports and major roadways causing air and noise pollution.
Beacon Hill is surrounded by major roadways where aircraft fly over us on average every 90 seconds causing air and noise pollution that lead to health impacts such as asthma, lung cancer, respiratory diseases, and other ailments. Noise pollution can lead to higher stress levels, less sleep, poorer cardiovascular health, and reduction in learning capabilities in youth. Yet our community, which is made up of primarily people of color, refugees, and immigrants, are not eligible for mitigation. Mitigation efforts can include funding for double panned windows to reduce the indoor noise, or more tree canopy to help filter and reduce air and noise pollution. Where you live, your income, race or language ability shouldn’t determine how healthy you are. However, the reality is that as low-income people of color, people are likelier to be disproportionately harmed by environmental issues.
Thirty community members from El Patio & Plaza Roberto Maestas have completed the Environmental Justice and education training with El Centro de la Raza. Through community organizing and leadership community members have come together as an important part of the fight against the exacerbated threat of air and noise pollution from the proposed Sea-Tac Airport Sustainable Air Master Plan (SAMP).
Through our Environmental Justice and Education Program, participants gained the knowledge and tools to make their voices heard as they fight for environmental justice for their families, friends, and community, including through story telling. Participants have expressed their concern in the added harm that SAMP will bring to their communities as flights are slowly increasing to pre-COVID flight numbers.
Community member Sandra Santos has expressed her concern in the increased flights as she is now aware of the health impacts it has on her family, especially her daughter who suffers from depression and is beginning to show symptoms of asthma. Santos is also aware of the climate impacts that aircraft aviation emissions will account for 25% of the global carbon budget by 2050. Forest fires is an additional concern Santos is worried will continues to worsen if nothing is done about the Climate Crisis. Santos fights for environmental justice for the health and future of her daughter as she wants a cleaner and sustainable world for her daughter.
Participants have continued to be involved after completing the EJ Training course by helping collects signatures for the Fix the Current Harm letter of concern that will be included in the comments to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the SeaTac Airport service expansion. El Centro de la Raza is continuing to organize more community members to participate in the Environmental Justice & Education program to continue to grow the movement. To support airport-impacted communities sign and share the letter of concern to help reach our goal of 4,000 signatures.
At El Centro de la Raza, we meet our community where the community needs us. Like any organization facing new challenges, the moment called for innovation when the pandemic hit. Food insecurity was on the rise, especially for our elderly on fixed incomes as prices rose and it was no longer safe for them to gather at our food bank.
As our supporters may recall, before we had a grocery store model. The community would select and gather what they needed on the ground floor of the historic building. It was a time many socialized and connected to their own cultures through food, as so many of us do.
But as the pandemic surged, many in our community started to fear for their health. Some who were immunocompromised feared even leaving their homes. Their need for food never declined, and in fact rose because the prices for basic staples soared, so we had to act fast and keep both the community and our staff safe.
We decided to move to a walking version of a “drive-through” model. We moved our food bank to the basement where our senior lounge once was and transformed it into our staging and distribution grounds to assemble prepacked, nourishing grocery bags for pickup. All staff wore masks to stay safe and we encouraged our clients to also do so to keep one another safe.
Once we completed the assembly of these prepacked bags, we handed the bags to clients through an outside window, where our clients would meet us in a line, wearing masks, and keeping six feet of distance between each other to gather their groceries. This pickup continues and takes place Thursdays and Fridays between 10:00AM – 12:00PM and 2:00PM – 4:00PM every week.
The next challenge we faced was that many of our clients feared leaving their homes due to COVID-19. In fact, most of our clients are vulnerable and over 60 years old. To address this need, we started home deliveries on Wednesdays.
Once vaccines and boosters became more widely available, we saw more of our elderly feel safe enough to resume visiting our food bank in-person. We also started to host vaccine clinics at our Seattle and Federal Way offices as often as possible.
While we are glad to see a degree of stabilization in FY2022 from the initial fear in the community regarding the pandemic, inflation has caused new problems. Prices have spiked for gas, rent, supplies and food, while people in our elderly community continue to do their best on the same fixed incomes. Each bag costs more to assemble. Our food bank food demands are getting higher for more fresh produce items and protein as well as we become more of the primary source for some in our community. We try our best to order them as much as we can, but these are items our clients articulate a greater need for more than before.
While demands grow among our clients, we are also seeing new clients, as a result of the rising costs of food. We will continue to welcome anyone who needs help without zip code restrictions for as long as we can. We are here to serve and represent our Beloved Community and gladly share what has worked to meet their evolving and growing needs.
Returning Over a Quarter of a Million Dollars in Stolen Wages
The seven-year partnership with the City of Seattle Office of Labor Standards has allowed El Centro de la Raza to recover over $300,000 in wages for our Spanish-speaking workers in the community. In 2022, we have recovered $40,000 already.
Through our Work Center, we are able to speak daily to workers who call in, and to deliver Know Your Rights (KYR) trainings to ensure workers are informed about Seattle labor standards. We teach about local Seattle laws, state laws, federal laws, and workplace injuries.
In our community, Spanish-speaking workers suffer higher rates of labor violations in Seattle/King County. The two labor laws we see most frequently violated are wage theft and lack of paid sick time.
Our continuous partnership with Seattle Office of Labor Standards gives us hope and energy for the future. The impact that this work has on the community goes far beyond numbers and money. We focus on assuring dignity, respect and a better quality of life for all workers.
We hope to continue to expand our program to reach and empower workers to be able to defend themselves against the exploitation of their labor.
Good news in efforts to expand affordable housing into Columbia City!
On July 21, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who authored JumpStart legislation, announced $80 million in JumpStart housing awards that will fund projects creating or preserving 1,769 homes. Mosqueda stressed that these 20 projects coming online will follow community visions and meet community needs by including family-sized units and on-site services, such as daycares or education and job centers for youth who’ve experienced homelessness.
From those funds, El Centro de la Raza will receive funding for our Columbia City development, which will create 87 units for low-income families and individuals.
Location: Plaza Roberto Maestas, 1650 S Roberto Maestas Festival Street, Seattle WA 98144
August 13: Vaccine Clinic
Date: Saturday, August 13, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Centilia Cultural Center/ Plaza Roberto Maestas, 1660 S Roberto Maestas Festival Street, Seattle WA 98144
August 14: 5th Seattle Urban Book Expo!
The Black and Brown Literary Get-Down returns to El Centro De la Raza on August 14th, 2022. Free fun in one of the largest BIPOC book celebrations in the area! Food, community and fun for all ages.
Event: 5th Seattle Urban Book Expo
Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022
Time: 10:00 AM 8:00 PM
Location: Plaza Roberto Maestas, 1650 S Roberto Maestas Festival Street, Seattle WA 98144
October 8: Reserve your tickets for our 5oth Anniversary Gala now!
Celebrate 50 triumphant years of El Centro de la Raza with us at our annual Building the Beloved Community Gala on October 8th, 2022. It has been an honor to spend the last half-century dedicating our work towards serving our community, and we have so many people that we are grateful to. We want to dedicate this momentous anniversary year to:
Pioneers of social change, including advocates for mutli-racial unity, shepherds of anti-war movements, local faith communities, volunteers, and activists
The people who originally occupied the old Beacon Hill school in the name of dignity and for a better life for the Latino community
Our generous supporters from all walks of life, who have made it possible for us to continue our work, from 1972 to this present day
It is an honor to still be here today providing critical services, life-changing opportunities, developing resiliency, and hope. We are so fortunate to not only be surviving, but thriving, with all thanks due to our incredible community of supporters, donors, residents, and staff.
Join us on Saturday, October 8, 2022 for our 50th Anniversary Building the Beloved Community Gala and take part in an exciting live event that raises funds for vital programs and services that benefit more than 21,000 individuals and families across our region. The evening also includes the presentation of our Roberto Felipe Maestas Legacy Awards & Scholarships. Registration will become available later this year.
What our representatives are doing to address health care workforce shortages and help immigrant workers
On June 7th, Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to help alleviate health care workforce shortages across the country and reduce employment barriers for immigrants who want to work in the health care field. Here is a brief summary of the three bills that were introduced:
TheImmigrants in Nursing and Allied Health Actwould help immigrants, regardless of whether they have any previous health care experience, get the financial support they need to enter nursing and allied health careers including nursing, mental and behavioral health, and other health care professions.
The IMG Assistance Actwould help reduce the barriers that international medical graduates face when trying to complete the necessary training and certification to receive a U.S. medical license.
The Professional’s Access to Health (PATH) Workforce Integration Act would offer training and counseling opportunities to internationally trained health professionals who are U.S. citizens, or immigrants legally residing in the U.S. while educating employers on the abilities and capacities of health professionals who have been educated overseas.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated national workforce challenges in health care. We must do everything we can to support health care workers, combat staffing shortages, and rebuild our health care system. One way we can do that is by reducing barriers to employment for immigrants looking to enter the health care field,” said Rep. Adam Smith. “Many immigrants, including those with international medical degrees, face significant costs and challenges to becoming health care professionals that deter them from entering the field. These bills will help reduce existing barriers and provide funding for training, licensing, certification, and case management services for immigrants in the U.S. to expand access to good-paying health care jobs and build a stronger health care workforce. Our country is in desperate need of more primary care physicians, nurses, behavioral health professionals, technicians, and other critical workers who care for our communities. There are many immigrants who are willing and able to fill these positions – these bills would take meaningful action to make these job opportunities a possibility for immigrants.”
“Healthcare provider shortages have created care deserts. This is unacceptable. At its current capacity, our nation’s infrastructure does not have the ability to supply a health professional workforce to fill the current and projected U.S. needs. At the same time, internationally educated health professionals already residing legally in the U.S., including physicians, nurses, dentists, mental health providers, pharmacists, social workers, and other health professionals, are currently working as childcare providers, home health aides, taxi drivers, laborers, and low-skilled jobs,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard. “I commend my colleague, Representative Smith, for his leadership in addressing this issue and I am proud to be working with him to introduce these three bills that will reduce barriers to entry into the workforce for internationally educated health professionals. My bill, the “Professionals Access to Health Workforce Integration Act,” or PATH Act would help to create a pipeline for lawfully present foreign trained health professionals to enter the American workforce with employment matching their health professional skills, education, and expertise. By facilitating the integration of these internationally trained health professionals into the U.S. health workforce, we will help increase our nation’s workforce diversity and contribute to improvements in the quality and availability of care for underserved populations.”
More information about the bills and a list of endorsements can be found here.
