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***REGISTER. . . December 5, 2008 . . . REGISTER***

Inaugural Virginia Latino Pilot Project (VALPP) to meet December 5

RICHMOND - Virginians from across the Commonwealth (non-profit- and
faith-based organizations, representatives from state, county and city
governments, public health experts, journalists, law enforcement officers,
business owners, social service providers, faculty and school
administrators) will join with consular officials from Washington, DC, on
Friday, December 5, 2008, at Ramsey United Methodist Church to learn more
about --- and help solve --- some of the many difficult problems facing the
region's fastest-growing community.

The all-day event --- 'Latinos in VA: Understanding and Working Together
with Our New Neighbors' --- has two main goals: Increase the non-Latino
community's general understanding of immigration issues and the challenges
faced in the United States by recent immigrants from Latin America; and,
create a new model of community outreach that can be used to help other
immigrant groups from different parts of the world.

Armed with recent academic studies of Virginia's surging Latino population,
along with information from focus group discussions with local immigrant
families and an historic door-to-door survey of Latino homes conducted by
student Red Cross volunteers, all conference participants will be invited to
contribute their ideas in the crafting of blueprints for a variety of
projects across the state that will help unify existing resources in
different localities and better coordinate local education efforts and
outreach programs in the months and years ahead.

"The Virginia Latino Pilot Project forum will be an opportunity for all
Virginians to learn from and with members of the Latino community, students,
faith-based institutions and other organizations," said the conference's
chief organizer, Peter Von der Lippe, manager of International Services for
the American Red Cross in Richmond .

"It will be an opportunity to learn about the underlying causes of migration
and collectively explore possible solutions. And, perhaps most importantly,
it will showcase the value of involving students and learning from them," he
added.

In addition to the American Red Cross and the Richmond-based Colaborando
Juntos (CJ) coalition of non-profit organizations, other groups that have
agreed to co host the event so far include the Virginia Latino Higher
Education Project (VALHEN), the Creciendo Juntos (CJ) group from
Charlottesville, the Virginia Public Health Association (VAPHA), Virginia
Asian Chamber of Commerce (VACC) and the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce (VAHCC).

Every month an advisory committee including representatives from these
groups, as well more than 30 other critical partners, meets to finalize
plans for the December 5 community forum at Ramsey United Methodist Church .

Registration deadline: November 14, 2008

Cost: $10

Click here to Register:

For more information, please contact (804) 646-0145 or (804) 649-6254.

REGISTER!. . . December 5, 2008 . . . REGISTER!

2009 Leadership Nominations

After much discussion regarding the best structure for Colaborando Juntos (a network of organizations working with Latinos in the greater Richmond area) as we move into next year, the leadership has decided to change the type leadership we will have for 2009 and beyond.

Over the five years that Colaborando Juntos has been in existence, we have seen the development of many, many opportunities for Latinos in the Greater Richmond area.

We have seen access to services increase tremendously as a result of helping service providers enhance their understanding of how to reach out to Latinos.

We have seen networks and opportunities around workforce development crystallize and result in increased capacity for both bi-lingual and culturally competent job-seekers and enhanced methods of recruiting for employers to access them.

We have seen expanded training and technical assistance for Latino-owned small and mid-size businesses.

We have seen the development of many cultural arts programs that highlight the variety of Latino cultures that exist in Richmond and we enjoy the multitude of activities geared towards Latino families around the area.

I would like to think that CJ as a whole has played a major role in helping to connect some of those dots that have resulted in this increased quality of life and services for all of Richmond residents.

Many of you know that we are slowly moving towards gaining a 401(c)(3) status which will give us an opportunity to fund a staff person to help to coordinate and sustain activities. In preparation for this, we have identified a more structured leadership framework.

We will have a Governing Board that will be appointed by the current leadership team. This governing board will be made up of strategic people in the community- giving consideration to those who might help us move certain initiatives forward in the community as well as help us identify revenue generating strategies and programmatic needs.

This Board will have an Executive Committee. This is where the new leadership team will be housed.

This year, the leadership team will seek nominations for leadership positions.

We encourage you to nominate yourself or another qualified individual.

THESE NOMINATION MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE OCTOBER 31ST TO BE CONSIDERED.

You may remember that our structure provides for some continuity in that we have an Assistant Chair who becomes Chair in the subsequent year. This year, our Assistant Chairperson is Riguey King.

With Riguey as the Chair for 2009, we will be looking to fill the following positions....

Assistant-Chair- We will maintain the practice of having the Assistant Chair become the Chair in the subsequent year. This continuity has served us well over the years. This person will be responsible for supporting the work of the chair, filling in at meetings as needed and leadership in special activities.
Communications Director- This person will be responsible for developing and maintaining the website, answering questions from the public, developing marketing tools, and overseeing the list serve.

Secretary/Membership Coordinator- This person will be responsible for meeting minutes AND membership activities including developing efforts to increase membership and developing policies and tracking methods.

Treasurer- This person will be our fiscal officer, but will also have responsibilities around developing revenue streams and identifying possible grant sources. (This person does not have to write them, just identify resources)

Events Planner- This position will be co-chaired and will coordinate all aspects of our bi-annual conference. They will identify a sub-committee to assist with this work.
Special Projects Director- This person will be responsible for coordinating special projects as they come up, ie- the immigration forum, the Richmond Hispanic Youth Symposium, etc... They will also be responsible for maintaining and updating the Resource Guide that we have done so well in the past. Other members of the leadership team will be responsible for assisting the Special Projects Director with these activities.

The current leadership will seek nominations for these positions and appoint individuals.

The current leadership team has spent a lot time looking at the various ways we might structure this and I feel that we have set up a very strong framework to continue our work.

These positions will give clear tasks and responsibilities to those that are appointed. The positions will also be able to draw on the talent of the Governing Board to create sub committees to carry out activities. These individuals will not be responsible for doing all the work themselves. However, we are only interested in people who are willing to consistently dedicate their time and energy over the course of the year.
I feel a new sense of purpose for our truly grassroots organization and I know that we have finally whittled down our focus to what we do well. This includes the provision of technical support to community service providers through conferences and trainings and keeping the community informed and connected by creating the list serve and now, our new weekly newsletter.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Please submit nominations by October 31st, 2008 to

cj@colaborandojuntosva.com or rodriguezccia@yahoo.com

Be sure to visit our website at
http://www.colaborandojuntosva.com/index.html
BE SURE TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS BY OCTOBER 31ST.
Thanks,
Cecily Rodriguez
Chair, Colaborando Juntos