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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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DECEMBER 20131
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Feliz Navidad y
Prospero Año Nueno 2014  Itzel and Santa visit ACLAMO's Family Literacy Program
From The Executive Director:
"Tidings of comfort and joy"... from a 15th Century English carol has a special significance for me this Christmas.
My 93-year old father passed away a week ago. He and his wife made the difficult and courageous decision to leave Cuba in the 1960's with their young children for the sake of freedom, and start a new life in the U.S. Theirs was a life full of challenges and blessings, not unlike many of the families we meet every day at ACLAMO.
This season when we gather together to celebrate the gifts of family, friendship and freedom, we give thanks to God for those who came before us and gave us the framework of love and sacrifice by which we hope to live our lives.
From all of us at ACLAMO, we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah and blessed New Year.
- Juan Guerra, Jr.PS Please consider ACLAMO for your year-end gift. Gracias.
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 ACLAMO´S FIRST BIDS FOR KIDS AUCTION RAISES OVER $11,000 While this month's newsletter is mostly about Christmas activities, we do want to begin by thanking all of you who donated items and attended our first Bids for Kids Auction. We enjoyed renewing acquaintances with many of our readers and meeting some new friends. The music by Casa Venezuela was absolutely delightful and set the tone for what was a joyous evening of celebration and support for our Latino families. In particular, we wish to thank the following who donated to our event: La Poblanita Restaurant and Eli's Bakery; the Banh Mi Bar and Bistro; and Plaza Azteca for their delicious food. We are grateful to Anthony's Rentals for tables, stages, coffee urns and chafing dishes. We also want to acknowledge our event sponsors Telemundo; Wells Fargo; DOW Chemical; Einstein Medical Center Montgomery; PECO Excelon; Smart Ideas; High Schwartz Attorneys-At-Law LLP; and the MONTCO District Attorney's Office. without whose generous support we could not have held this event.
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ACLAMO CHRISTMAS TOY DISTRIBUTION
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Thank you, Santa!
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On December 14th, a snow storm was in the forecast. Still, hundreds of families and their children waited patiently in the cold outside Calvary Baptist Church for their chance to receive a Christmas toy.
As they made their way inside, several dozen student and faculty volunteers from Jenkintown and Plymouth Whitemarsh High Schools, along with ACLAMO staff, were ready to be "santa's helpers" in distributing the hundreds of classified gifts. Both high schools also donated toys, as did the Montgomery County Office of Aging and Adult Services. Live holiday music from the Norristown Chorale added to the festivities.
By the end of the morning, over 1,200 toys were distributed! We are grateful to Pastor Douglas Avilesbernal and Calvary Baptist Church for their help; the US Marine Corps Toys-for-Tots Campaign; The Spanish and French classes of Jenkintown and Plymouth Whitemarsh High Schools; and the Norristown Chorale for bringing a smile to so many local children.
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NORRISTOWN ROTARY WORKS ITS CHRISTMAS MAGIC FOR CHILDREN IN ACLAMO´S FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM
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Rotary members Guido Martinelli and Kathy Arnold-Yerger keep Santa supplied with gifts, as Rotary President Jim Nutt watches.
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ACLAMO is grateful for support it receives from many organizations. This Christmas, the Norristown Rotary Club presented the children of ACLAMO's Family Literacy Program with a Chistmas party, complete with a very special guest -- Santa! Rotary members carefully selected toys in advance, so that it would just the right present for each child, with the child´s name in big letters on the tag.
This year, Family Literacy Program Director LInda Maldonado led the children in Christmas songs, as Rotarian Tom Brown got into his Santa outfit in another room, and other Rotary members set out special snacks. Then, Santa made his grand entrance. Children crowded around and then sat down, waiting more or less patiently as Santa was handed each present. When Santa read a name, the child either rushed forward, or slowly overcame shyness to sit on Santa´s lap for a picture. The children were also treated to Pookie the clown who provided songs and face painting. Our thanks to the Norristown Rotary Club!
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ACLAMO AND BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
TEAM UP FOR THE TEEN ADELANTE PROGRAM
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Adelante Program students getting ready depart for Bryn Mawr College.
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Teaching students how to prepare for college is one of the goals of Ana Cordova, the ACLAMO/Bryn Mawr VISTA worker who serves as Coordinator of ACLAMO's new "Adelante" Program for teens.
On Saturday, December 7, Ana arranged for 14 middle school students from Norristown Area School District to have their first experience on Bryn Mawr's campus. They first held a scavenger hunt to become more familiar with the school. After ice breakers, they settled down to exchange their impressions of academic activities in general.
After a short break, they were back at work discussing three critical questions: What do you expect from the Adelante Program? Why is math/science important? What can I do to become a better student?
The Adelante students eagerly looked forward to lunch, which included a Q&A session with current college students. The middle school students were encouraged by the Bryn Mawr students' sharing their educational and social experiences in middle school, and giving advice for high school.
"We want these students to begin thinking of themselves as serious students who are bound for post-secondary education," Ana commented. "Just being in the Adelante Program shows that they have real potential."
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Officer Mike Mayfield helps supervise Gregory and Timothy, inmates from Montgomery County Prison. Once again through the prison's tree nursery program, ACLAMO received a fresh Christmas tree to decorate it's lobby. Special thanks go to Warden Julio Algarin, Officer Mayfield, Gregory and Timothy for helping to usher in the season.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY INTERMEDIATE UNIT EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM SUPPORTS ACLAMO FAMILIES
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Diane Ambler and Michele Jervis-Schultz present gift cards to Juan Guerra as Kristen Rawlings, MCIU´s Director of Communications looks on.
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Michele Jervis-Schultz, of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, uses her training as a speech pathologist in her work with ACLAMO families. This year she teamed up with special education teacher Diane Ambler to organize a Holiday Campaign in the Early Intervention Program at the Intermediate Unit to purchase $300 in Shop-Rite gift cards for ACLAMO families.This Christmas season is going to be a lot more joyful for some of our needy families after a productive visit to Shop-Rite - thanks to the Intermediate Unit!
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Personal Profile: GRISELLE MONTAÑEZ
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Sporting safety glasses, Griselle, shows ACLAMO her lab.
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Dr. Griselle Montañez is head of the Hispanic Leadership Network (HLN) at Dow Chemical´s huge Collegeville research laboratory. "Of course," she smiles quietly, "I am also the only Latina working at this Dow location, so I guess I am the head!"
Encouraging more Latino students to prepare for careers in science is one of the main goals of the Hispanic Leadership Network, which has more Latino members in other Dow facilities found across the United States and in many other countries. HLN members in Philadelphia work with Latino organizations in the city, and Griselle hopes to build Dow connections with ACLAMO.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Griselle began college at Penn State University with the goal of majoring in business. "Then, I took a biology course and was surprised to find myself falling in love with science," she recalls.
Discovering surprising new possibilities comes regularly to Griselle. "One day I went to a stable near Phoenixville to go horseback riding and found one of the other riders very attractive." The two are now married and have a one-year-old son, Leonardo.
ACLAMO is very pleased to have Dr. Montañez working in support of our Latino families. We anticipate new and exciting things her presence will bring our way!
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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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