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ACLAMO Family Centers Newsletter
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Providing our community with the services and skills for success
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October/November 20121
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From The Executive Director:
Super Storm Sandy hitting our region seems like a metaphor of the last month. While we keep those affected in our thoughts and prayers, ACLAMO's family is weathering some difficult days as well as we adjust to staff cutbacks and continue to face financial challenges.
Despite this, we have witnessed many blessings. Our autumn appeal has gotten off to a great start, and our partnerships with local schools, from Wayne Elementary to Temple University continue to flourish. In addition, I continue to recover from surgery and I am looking forward to getting back to work.
Please read about our match and consider keeping the momentum going. Thank you for your support!
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Donation Match Update: More Than Halfway to Goal!
Last month we launched a special appeal with a twist. As we mentioned, ACLAMO is facing serious funding issues, which are threatening to cut our educational programs. This comes at a time where attendance in our classrooms is at an all-time high.
A generous dono r came forward with a challenge grant, looking to match any donation up to $5,000! Already we have raised just over half of that challenge amount.
With the success of this appeal, we have been able to extend this drive through the end of December. Any gift you give ACLAMO in the next two months will be doubled by the match! Please help us reach our goal by making a direct and secure donation to ACLAMO. Another option is to become an Amigo de ACLAMO. Amigos are a select group of donors who are committed to our belief that good education as key to the future success of the next generation of children. Please read more in the article below. You can join this special group of friends simply by signing up to give a monthly pledge, as little as $20. Please consider this option. Any gift of any size helps. Thank you for your support! |
ACLAMO Students Celebrate Halloween
The ACLAMO preschool-aged students and their mothers celebrated Halloween by visiting the Montgomery County Senior Adult Activity Center around the corner from the Norristown Center. Dressed in costume, they went around the center and received candy. The After-School Program students also dressed up and had a party. Please go to facebook.com/aclamo to see more photos.
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Beekeeping Demonstration Enthralls After-School Students
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Professor Vincent Aloyo explains a beehive to ACLAMO After-School students.
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The children who are part of ACLAMO's After-School Program got an up-close look at bees, their habitat and their habits, as well as a taste of the honey they produce, during a special presentation by a beekeeper this month.
"The kids really enjoyed talking about the bees," said Vincent Aloyo, of Aloyo Apiculture and Education of Blue Bell. "They are so full of enthusiasm and questions. It's just great."
Aloyo explained the importance of honeybees to our environment, and talked in detail about an "observation" bee hive, a portable hive encased in glass. The children were able to see and touch a honeycomb to help them understand how the bees build a hive.
He also explained the differences among honeybees, yellow jackets, hornets and wasps, especially the fact the yellow jackets are the pests that spoil our picnics, not honeybees, whose main activity is pollination of plants. "I think its important for them to know the difference," Aloyo said. "It's important for them to know the value of bees in pollination producing their fruits and some vegetables." Some of the honey the children tasted was made by bees from Mexico, where most of the student's families originated. "That was a real hit with the kids," Aloyo said.
A Phd in biochemistry, Aloyo taught for many years at the Drexel University College of Medicine. Apiculture, the study of bees and beekeeping, has become his profession in his retirement. He is an Adjunct Professor of Apiculture at Temple University and Delaware Valley College, and gives demonstrations and lectures to schools and civic groups. He also has served as the state's Regional Bee Inspector.
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Amigos de ACLAMO Receive Craft Made by Our Students
Amigos de ACLAMO is a group of people who have committed their support to ACLAMO through a regular financial contribution. Amigos receive a monthly letter from the Board of Directors and other special communications and invitations.
We are a small but growing group that is key to the future success of ACLAMO.
Students in the After-School Program made crafts especially for those in the Amigos Program. The crafts related to Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration, a time when families remember the contributions of previous generations.
We are seeking new Amigos! To learn more, or to become an Amigo, please go to our website:
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Personal Profile: Wanda Rivera, social worker
A love for her language and her culture brought Wanda Rivera to work for ACLAMO in the Pottstown center. Seven months ago, Wanda was appointed as Case manager of ACLAMO's Pottstown facility.
"This is a great experience, working with my people," said Rivera, who is from Puerto Rico. "I work with different cultures as well, Mexican, Cuban, Central American. This is such a good opportunity to see the diversity in the Hispanic culture."
Rivera, 22, is studying at West Chester University, building upon her years as a student of Hispanic Studies at the University of Puerto Rico. Her goal is to become a Spanish teacher here. Rivera and her son moved to Pottstown two years ago from the city of Aguada in Puerto Rico.
In addition to helping clients in a variety of social service needs and cultural activities, Rivera coordinates the annual health fair and flu shot clinics at the Pottstown center. She would like to expand services to include more educational components. A volunteer now tutors illiterate adults there.
"It was a surprise for me to see in America that there are so many adults who do not know how to properly read and write," Rivera said. "My hope is that ACLAMO Pottstown continues to expand, because I see the need for increased education."
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ACLAMO celebrates its 35th year of providing economic, educational, health and cultural opportunities for low-income residents of Norristown and Pottstown, especially those of Spanish-language heritage.
ACLAMO stands for Acc�on Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County, or the Latin American Action Committee of Montgomery County. ACLAMO is derived from the Spanish word "aclamar," which means "to acclaim."
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
aclamo.org
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