Understanding the Latino Community in Northern Kentucky with FIESTA NKY’s Founder & CEO Theresa Cruz
Written By: Tim Herrmann, Rotary Club of Florence
Join the Rotary Club of Florence, serving all of Boone County (@FlorenceRotary), on Monday, March 4, 2024, at noon as Founder & CEO of FIESTA NKY (@fiestanky) Theresa Cruz speaks on “Understanding the Latino Community in Northern Kentucky.” FIESTA is a grassroots, nonprofit organization based out of Florence that serves the needs of the growing Hispanic community in Northern Kentucky. As the Hispanic population in Northern Kentucky increases, the need for community partners to band together to meet their unique needs in a culturally relevant and appropriate way also increases. Learn more about this fast growing community and how we can better serve and support them to become a social and economic engine for the region.
In 2019, Theresa started working under the Statewide Family Engagement Collaborative grant with the Prichard Committee of Academic Excellence (@Prichardcom) through Learning Grove, focused on building relationships between families and their child’s school. It recognized the importance of family engagement to children’s success and how, if families are actively involved in their child’s education it benefits not only the child, but the family, educators, schools, and community.
As part of the initiative, Learning Grove provided ESL classes and parent education to Hispanic families at schools in different districts. They encouraged families to be more involved in their child’s education, asking them to participate in SBDMs and PTOs. They soon realized that the families they served were in need of much more than Learning Grove provided. They were in need of basic necessities, resources, and services just to survive – how can these families be asked to be part of the PTO or an SBDM when they can’t put food on the table? How can they be active participants in their child’s education when they don’t have secure housing? It wasn’t that they didn’t care, as so many educators mistakenly think, it’s that their priority is helping their families survive and thrive.
As the Hispanic population in Northern Kentucky grows, the need for community partners to band together to meet their unique needs in a culturally relevant and appropriate way also grows. From these identified needs, F.I.E.S.T.A. was born. F.I.E.S.T.A., which stands for families, inclusion, education, society, tradition, and access, is a grassroots, non-profit organization focused on serving the needs of the Hispanic community in Northern Kentucky. By meeting the needs of this community, we can help families build capacity and self-sufficiency thus giving families the opportunity to focus on their most precious gift: their children!
As part of her talk, Theresa presents a call to action to the Rotary Club of Florence: “Our organization depends on donations to provide food, clothing, and diapers to families in need. To assist in our mission, we ask that the Rotary of Florence host a diaper drive for FIESTA. We are in need of sizes 3-7. Thank you!”
Guests are always welcome to join, meet members and learn about the club.
Members – Please share this information via email and social media. Invite a friend!
Please RSVP at: https://tinyurl.com/rcofky-rsvp.
Date: Monday, March 4, 2024
Meeting Hosts: Team #4
LOCATION: Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD), 22 Spiral Drive, Florence, KY 41042
Live Streamed on the club’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@rotaryclubofflorenceky
11:45 am – Lunch Buffet $13/person
12:00 pm – Meeting Begins
Greeting, Prayer-Reflection-Inspiration, Pledge & 4-Way Test
12:15 pm – Program Begins
1:00 pm – Meeting Adjourned
#FloRo #Rotary #ServiceAboveSelf #PeopleofAction #CreateHope #Latino #Latina #Latinx #Hispanic #CulturalUnderstanding #Need #Families #Inclusion #Education #Society #Tradition #Access
Upcoming dates to put on your calendar, check out the Google calendar on our website (https://florencerotary.org/calendar/)
Monday, March 4th – Foundation Board Meeting
Monday, March 11th – Boone County Schools, Superintendent Matt Turner
Monday, March 11th – Club Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 13th – OKI Rotary Alliance – Metropolitan Club – 4:30 pm
Friday, March 15th – Scholarship Applications Due – www.florencerotary.org/scholarship-application
Monday, March 18th – City of Florence, Mayor Julie Aubuchon
Monday, March 25th – No Meeting – Team Meeting Week – Community Service Week
Monday, April 1st – NKU President – Cady Short-Thompson
Saturday, June 1st – Dick Wilkerson Memorial Clay Shoot
