Winners to Be Honored at 2006 NCLR Annual Conference in Los Angeles

Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today announced the recipients of the third annual NCLR-Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Awards (FSA). The awards are a partnership between NCLR and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national foundation that works to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States.

These five NCLR Affiliates are being recognized for their exemplary programs that strengthen Hispanic families: American YouthWorks (AYW) of Austin, TX; El Centro de la Raza of Seattle, WA; CentroNía of Washington, DC; La Casa de Esperanza, Inc. of Waukesha, WI; and Montebello Housing Development Corporation of Montebello, CA.

“The 2006 FSA winners have taken a proactive role in reaching out to families in the Hispanic community, assisting them in strengthening their ability to provide and care for their children,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “We are proud to honor their achievements and commend the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its commitment to helping strengthen community-based organizations which serve the Latino community.”

All of the awardees have demonstrated exemplary dedication to families in their communities by offering programs that meet their educational, housing, employment, health, and advocacy needs. The organizations will be honored at the National Affiliate Luncheon on Saturday, July 8 during the NCLR Annual Conference in Los Angeles, CA. In addition, each organization will receive $10,000 to fund their award-winning programs and will join other Latino community-based organizations at a workshop, open to the public, to showcase and demonstrate their best practices.

• American YouthWorks – Casa Verde Builders (CVB) is a model AmeriCorps/HUD YouthBuild community service program for 17- to 26-year-old out-of-school youth. Since 1993, CVB has built more than 90 single-family, energy-efficient houses in East Austin, providing smart, quality-built homes for families.
• CentroNía – CentroNía’s Family Literacy Program works with a network of community resources to help strengthen the literacy skills of Washington, DC’s children, youth, and adults. School-age students and youth participate in a structured after-school reading, writing, and math tutoring program which leads to improved academic performance.
• El Centro de la Raza – El Centro de la Raza has provided support to homeless Latino families for 26 years. Through the Homeless Assistance Case Management program, families become self-sufficient over a year’s time. The program uses an educational and financial assistance model that enables families to move from emergency shelter to housing in the shortest amount of time.
• La Casa de Esperanza – The Children, Family, and Youth Program provides bilingual services designed to support the entire family. Children and youth services emphasize education and include child care, early childhood education, and recreational activities during after-school, evening, weekend, and school vacation hours when parents are working.
• Montebello Housing Development Corporation – Under its Affordable Housing Program, Montebello Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) addresses barriers to homeownership for Latino families. Bilingual and bicultural program staff help clients navigate the homebuying process.

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