 | | Hundreds of children received toys through ACLAMO during this holiday season. |
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From the Executive Director:
It is humbling for me to realize how many people 
and organizations regularly come together to make ACLAMO work. Please read in this, our second newsletter, how support by friends like the ACPPA Community Arts Center, students from Bryn Mawr College and Jenkintown High School, National Penn Bank and the Philadelphia Phillies help us positively impact our community. How remarkable it is that the arts, education, banking and sports communities can combine their talents to help elevate those in need. We thank them, and you, for continued support!
-Juan I. Guerra
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ACLAMO Dedicates Wall Murals Created with ACPPA Art Center, Bryn Mawr College
 Whimsical mural panels custom designed and painted for the main entrance of ACLAMO Family Centers in Norristown will be dedicated on Friday, January 14th. The ceremony will include a performance from the preschool students of ACLAMO's literacy and education program.The 4-month project was directed by Amy Grebe, artistic director of ACPPA Community Art Center, in partnership with Bryn Mawr College's Graduate School of Social Work.The 14 separate panels work together to depict a lush landscape, including a green mountain vista, bright tropical foliage, and children dancing in a small-town street. The mural panels fill the walls leading into the stately building, a former PNC Bank on West Marshall Street.Click here for full story |
Tres Reyes Fiesta Brings Toys, Music, Dinner and Dancing to the Pottstown Community
ACLAMO's annual Tres Reyes Magos Fiesta, or Three Kings celebration, brought hundreds of people together from our Pottstown community. The party, sponsored by a generous donation from National Penn Bank, and also with the support of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, the United Way of S.E. Pennsylvania, and Susquehanna Bank was held on Saturday, January 8th, at the North End Firehouse.
The three kings arrived to distribute hundreds of gifts to the children, including a backpack for each child donated by the Philadelphia Phillies. Justino Roman and his band played Latino music while ACLAMO staff members served "comida tipica," including chicken, rice and beans, salads and dessert.
Thanks to Major Mary Frances and the Salvation Army for their support. Also to Pottstown Legal Aid for providing the terrific array of toys. The Tres Reyes Magos Fiesta is a cherished tradition in Pottstown, started over 25 years ago by ACLAMO founder Adamino Ortiz.
 
To see more photos go to facebook.com/aclamo.
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Hundreds of Children Receive Gifts at the ACLAMO Annual Christmas Celebration
 A long line of local families braved the bitter December cold to help make their children's dreams come true by coming to the annual ACLAMO Christmas celebration on Saturday, December 18. ACLAMO staff and volunteers gave out more than 1,000 toys to the children, donated through the U.S. Marine Corps. Toys for Tots program. Families started lining up on West Marshall Street outside our Norristown center long before the event started at 8:30 a.m., and continued arriving until after noon.
Our thanks go to the 31 Spanish and French honors students from Jenkintown High School who volunteered to help distribute the gifts. Thanks also to their dedicated teachers, Spanish teacher Richard Detwiler and French teacher Edith Guay, who organized the students and a fundraising effort. ACLAMO also is grateful to the U.S. Marine Corps., and is proud to be a partner in its Toys for Tots program.
 | | Jenkintown High School Spanish and French honors students |
To see more photos go to facebook.com/aclamo
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Philadelphia Phillies Are ACLAMO Phans
 Philadelphia Phillies Charities donated $5,000 to ACLAMO for their work assisting the local Latino community. Executive Director Juan Guerra represented ACLAMO at the Phillies Charities holiday party held at the Diamond Club at Citizens Bank Park in December. On "hand" at the festivities was the Philly Phanatic. "We are very grateful to the Philadelphia Phillies in their support of disadvantaged people especially in the holiday season," Guerra said.
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ACLAMO Preschoolers Receive Class Pet
 | | National Penn Bank's Mary Sobjak and Joanne Stauffer deliver Boo-Boo. |
The preschoolers in our Even Start program recently received a furry new addition to their classroom. Meet Boo-Boo, the class hamster.
The pet was donated by National Penn Bank through its employee-giving campaign, called People Helping People, said Mary Sobjak, bank community-relations specialist. The campaign gives every bank department the opportunity to donate to a local non-profit organization of its choice.
"The hamster is a huge hit. She is the first thing the children ask about when they come to school," said Linda Maldonado, the Even Start lead teacher. "Boo-Boo is a wonderful source of learning for our little ones. Even our very shy children want to point something out about her."
Click here for full story.
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 PERSONAL PROFILE:
Gloria Page
A Second-Generation
ACLAMO
Social Worker
Once Gloria Page had a baby girl of her own, she realized she wanted to help children, specifically those who, like her, are of hispanic heritage. Now the newest member of the ACLAMO team, she works with our youngest students, visiting them at home to assess their learning progress.
Page, 23, graduated in May from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social sciences. She lives in Blue Bell with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.
"I hope I can make a difference for the children here," said Page, who plans to pursue a graduate degree in child psychology. "I want to be there for them, like I am for my own daughter."
Page is bilingual, having grown up speaking Spanish at home. Her mother came to Philadelphia from Panama, and worked at ACLAMO 25 years ago. Now a social-work supervisor at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Page's mother suggested to her daughter that she start her career at ACLAMO as well. Her father, a judge at the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, also encouraged the choice.
Click here for full story.
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ACLAMO celebrates its 34th year of providing economic, educational, health and cultural opportunities for the low-income residents of Norristown and Pottstown, especially those of Spanish heritage. ACLAMO is derived from the Spanish word "aclamar," which means "to announce."
Accíon Comunal Latino Americano de Montgomery County.
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ACLAMO Family Centers ACLAMO Family Centers
512 W. Marshall Street 515 Walnut Street
Norristown, PA 19401 Pottstown, PA 19464
610 277-2570 610-970-2134
www.aclamo.org
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