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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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MAY 20131
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Director of Education, Linda Maldonado, and Assistant Teacher, Monica McGuire assist the children in their song and dance performance at the breakfast.
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From The Executive Director:
On a beautiful Spring morning in May, ACLAMO held its 5th Annual faces of Hope breakfast for a crowd of nearly 300 guests.
How wonderful it was to witness the families and children present stories of how their lives have been impacted by ACLAMO. Thank you Maria and Luna! How delightful and inspiring it was to see the children sing and dance, to experience the exuberance, color and energy of Mexican and flamenco dance, and to hear Josh Shapiro and Eduardo Nieto give strong testimonies to the immigrant experience and our working together for the common good.
We were blessed beyond our expectations by all who attended and by the generosity of so many. From all of us at ACLAMO Family Centers, Muchas Gracias!
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ITS MOST SUCCESSFUL ...  FUNDRAISER!  | | Board President Eduardo Nieto addresses guests at the Faces of Hope breakfast. |
An enthusiastic crowd of close to 300 attended ACLAMO Family Centers' fifth annual Faces of Hope fundraiser at the Westover Country Club in Jeffersonville. Among the guests were Montgomery County Commissioners Josh Shapiro and Leslie Phillips, Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio, State Representative Matt Bradford, former Philadelphia Eagles General Manager Jimmy Murray, Norristown Area School District Superintendent Dr. Janet Samuels, Pastor Edward Crenshaw, District Attorney Risa Ferman, and local philanthropists Nicholas and Athena Karabots. Juan I. Guerra, ACLAMO Executive Director, welcomed everyone. "We are so blessed to assemble together today to celebrate ACLAMO Family Centers' 36th Anniversary". Keynote speaker Josh Shapiro, Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, spoke of the importance of Montgomery County's partnership with ACLAMO in meeting the needs of the local Latino community. ACLAMO Board president Eduardo Nieto shared a personal story about the hard work and contributions of the new immigrant community and asked guests to generously support ACLAMO. Among the highlights: ACLAMO's young students sang and performed dances and parent Maria Juarez delivered an emotional speech describing the benefits she and her daughter received through the Family Literacy program. This was followed by ten-year-old student Luna Moskal, who gave a poised testimonial of her experience of attending ACLAMO's After School program, going from a "C" student to receiving straight "A's. "I want to be a lawyer someday. Then, I can give back to ACLAMO all it gave to me," said Luna. (Luna's complete speech is included at the end of the newsletter.)
ACLAMO is pleased to report that the Faces of Hope event raised over $84,650! "Despite a tough economy, this was our most successful fundraiser yet," shared Guerra. "We are extremely grateful for the generosity of all who supported this special event". Among those he thanked were ACLAMO's staff and families, the Board of Directors, and the Faces of Hope Committee
Our thanks go to professional groups who sponsored the event. Among them were Carp Dental Group; McTighe, Weiss & O'Rourke; High Schwartz; Kaplin, Steward, Meloff, Reiter & Stein; Therese L. Money Law Office; Kerns, Pearlstine, Onorator & Hladik; Solomon, Berschler, Warren, and Schatz, Flood & Monaghan.
Other business and service groups supporting the breakfast were Lexus of Chester Springs, Manpower, Suburban Enterprises, Drive Here, John Kennedy Ford, The Philadelphia Phillies, National Penn Bank, EHL Consulting, PECO Exelon, and the Upper Main Line Rotary. Our appreciation go to Van Horn Consulting who covered the cost of printing our Faces of Hope event booklet.
Special thanks also go to Ballet Folklorico de Acapulco, led by Socorro Sadeghipour, and to flamenco dancer and instructor extraordinaire, Anne Margaret Castellanos. We are also grateful to photographers Doerthe Externest and Sharon Gray, and to Gary Wasserson of Wasserson Design for providing us with audio visual support.
In addition, we wish to acknowledge Victory Christian Fellowship for their special gift, and in particular we are grateful for the generosity of Nicholas and Athena Karabots and the Karabots Foundation for their extraordinary support of a matching grant. Proceeds from this event will help ACLAMO continue its mission of providing services and teaching the skills which are so vital to the success of those we serve.
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UPPER MAIN LINE ROTARY MAKES A SPLASH AT ACLAMO
 | | Chad Roseberg and his team of painters celebrate the new look of ACLAMO's downstairs lobby. |
Saturday, April 27th is the International Rotary Club's day of Service. On that day, thousands of people from all over the world participate in projects that have a positive impact in their communities. For the second year in a row, the Upper Main Line Rotary Club has come to ACLAMO Family Center to help beautify the old former bank located at 512 West Marshall Street in Norristown.
"We wanted to give the space a Latino flavor," said Juan Guerra, Executive Director. Chad Rosenberg, the Rotary Club president, and a group of 12 Rotarians generously gave up a Saturday for a day of service and transformed the downstairs lobby with brightly painted walls. "This was part of our plan to complete a project that we had begun last year", said Rosenberg. "We are committed to the work of ACLAMO, and see this as a continuation of our collaboration with them".
All of us at ACLAMO wish to thank the Upper Main Line Rotary for their hard work and their commitment to helping others less fortunate. We also thank Sherwin Williams in Wayne for their donation of paints, rollers and brushes. For more information on the UML Rotary Club please call 484-614-5557.
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LIVING THEIR FAITH
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Lylia Hoehl keeps all ages listening! |
Many local faith communities in Montgomery County support the work of ACLAMO through donations of time, money and services. One of the most loyal of these groups is the Victory Christian Fellowship, located in Audubon.
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The children show Casette Elliott how "The wipers
on the bus go swish, swish, swish ...." |
Several times each year, members from Victory Christian Fellowship come to ACLAMO's Norristown location to provide enjoyable times filled with games, singing, stories, and snacks for the preschool children in ACLAMO's Family Literacy Program.
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LUNA MOSKAL'S SPEECH AT FACES OF HOPE
Good Morning!
It's an honor to be here! Thank you for coming!
My name is Luna Moskal. I am 10 years old and live in Norristown. My origins are Chilean and American. Chilean from my mother, Edith, and American from my father, Robert. I have been going to ACLAMO for the last 5 years. At the beginning math was very hard for me to understand, I didn't like it at all. But, when I came to ACLAMO the teachers and the tutors taught me step by step how to solve mathematical problems. Now math is my favorite subject and I feel more confident in math work. In addition to coming to ACLAMO I have developed not only communication skills, but also strong social and learning skills!
The tutors come to ACLAMO every day to help us with our homework and studying for our tests. The tutors are friendly and they have the knowledge and skills to do everything well. The tutors have helped me to get all A's in my classes. Sometimes they have parties for us to celebrate the holidays. I really enjoy these parties!
There are many different activities at ACLAMO such as exercising, musical chairs, arts & crafts and airplane contests. One of my favorite activities is the school store. I work in the school store every week on Thursday. The store helps me and the kids in the program deal with money and marketing. There are many things that we sell at the school store, such as toys, books, and school supplies. The kids in the program run the store. I am responsible for setting the prices for the items we sell. I think the school store makes the program better because the kids are getting the chance to do their best so they can earn money for the school store.
We have many computers in the rooms where the kids can play math games and do their projects. It helps ACLAMO because some kids prefer using technology to finish their homework and study. Or some students cannot afford computers at home.
We also have some older students that come from many different colleges who do science and plant centers with us, which I like very much! ACLAMO is a very friendly place to be. The kids all get along with each other and the teachers.
I would like to thank my teachers at ACLAMO, Miss Marla and Miss Nadine, for their hard work they put into the program.
Finally, I would like to thank every one of you for making this program possible, you are truly preparing us for the future we have ahead!
I want to be a lawyer someday. Then, I can give back to ACLAMO all it gave to me.
Thank you so much and have a great day!
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ACLAMO celebrates its 36th 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 Accíon Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County, or Latin American Action 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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