 In December, ELPASO held their annual "Teddy Bear Hospital" event. This event helps children not to be afraid of visits to the doctor and to learn the importance of prevention at an early age. Children bring their "sick" stuffed animals to an appointment with a doctor and receive information on COVID prevention, healthy eating and other important health information.
ELPASO presenta el 'hospital de muñequitos' El objetivo del evento es que los niños pierdan el miedo de ir al doctor y aprendan la importancia de prevenir las enfermedades desde pequeños. Los niños traerán a sus peluchitos enfermos al doctor y recibirán información sobre cómo prevenir el COVID, alimentación saludable y más. By Kate Ruder Excerpt from Kate Ruder's Collective Colorado article  Photo by Eli Imadali "When HollyAnne Giffin began tutoring 12-year-old Gabriel Fernandez last winter, they worked on math homework via Zoom. As they got to know one another, they took adventures beyond their screens." "Last spring, they experimented with elephant toothpaste at a neighborhood park, building on Fernandez’s middle-school science curriculum. They took a bike ride and a hike. When school was out this past summer, Giffin called Fernandez on the phone and asked him to read passages from a book about Louis Armstrong to increase his confidence and fluency." Republished with the permission of The Colorado Trust
ELPASO VOZ Lafayette leaders sent this letter to senators and house representatives to ensure they know that the Latino community does not want their children to do testing during this challenging year. en español  Our very own board member, Eugenia Brady, received the 2021 International Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association of Boulder County.
This award recognizes individuals in Boulder County who have contributed substantially during the previous year (or longer) to making the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights a living, vital, and effective document. This declaration identifies such human rights as the right to life, liberty, and security of person, the right to privacy and freedom of movement, the right to an education, and the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care. (UNA of Boulder County) Read more about Eugenia and this award in the Longmont Leader here. An excerpt from the The Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Newsletter: Amigos By Pat Bulthaup This Fall, the Executive Director of the ELPASO program, Tere Garcia, reached out to her friend Chris Itano to ask if the Fellowship could provide tutoring for many of their students who were struggling with online learning. Chris helped Oscar Flores and ELPASO in providing the Las Posadas celebrations that took place at the Fellowship the previous three years. Chris brought the request for tutoring help to the Social Justice Council and I started coordinating it. We had a wonderful response from the Fellowship. There were a number of trainings led by Tere Garcia and Carol Pranschke helped with administering background checks. Now we have nineteen tutors who have been matched with a student and their family. Each tutoring pair also has a coordinator to help with communication.  What a year it was! We were all asked to demonstrate our strength and resilience again and again in 2020. Our ELPASO families have needed to support their students in online learning, often while managing a loss of income and all of the challenges that creates (scarcity for rent, food, internet). In addition to the economic impact, our Latino community has felt the health impacts of the pandemic acutely - with many cases of Covid, and even some resulting fatalities.  Photo by Dana Romanoff Despite the very real challenges that our families have faced, they’ve continued to persevere in their desire to support their children’s education.
 I believe that COVID-19 came with many purposes - one of those was to see how we could deliver the same amazing programs and results that we’re known for in a different, maybe even better, way. This challenge required innovation, flexibility, initiative, and a little bit of a crazy spirit. Fortunately, the ELPASO organization has all those ingredients - plus an amazing staff, a wonderful group of parent leaders, strong board member support, and just plain good luck
Hear what our Executive Director, Tere Garcia, has to say about ELPASO in an interview with the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Boulder County.
We feel called to action as we observe the strength and passion of the people marching with signs, expressing their frustration and indignation toward the never-ending mistreatment of people of color by police.
We begin by expressing support for the African American community. We ask that police and sheriff’s departments and the elected officials to whom they report, across our country, take a step back, reflect upon their behaviors and fears, and take responsibility for any and all racist actions. They can do better. Nos sentimos llamados a la acción al observar la fuerza y la pasión de las personas que marchan con pancartas, expresando su frustración e indignación hacia el maltrato interminable de personas de color por parte de la policía.
Comenzamos expresando apoyo a la comunidad afroamericana. Pedimos a los departamentos de policía, comisarios y a los funcionarios electos a quienes informan, en todo nuestro país, que den un paso atrás, reflexionen sobre sus comportamientos y temores, y se responsabilicen de todas y cada una de las acciones racistas. Pueden hacerlo mejor. |
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