Latina Women Expand Political Involvement in the United States
Elección Latina gives women information, courage to campaign
Hispanics now account for nearly 13 percent of the total U.S. population. According to Center for American women and Politics(CAWP), of the 86 women serving in the 110th Congress, seven are Latina; of the 1,741 women state legislators nationwide, 75 are Latina.
Meet Teresa Ruiz she is the first Latina to serve in the New Jersey State Senate. To read more, please click on this link to American Government, Teresa Ruiz.
Links: Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers and Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE). LUPE is a group of women leaders whose mission is to ensure the empowerment of Latinas in the political arena. Their members include leaders from all walks of life including lawyers, public officials, educators, community activists, and businesswomen. Collectively, members of LUPE have spearheaded initiatives that impacted the lives of thousands of individuals over the last 20 years. For more information, please visit CAWP's website.
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Latin American History
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Migrant Ministry’ reaches out to seasonal workers
By Lad Strayer
Ray and Grace Pizana are among the volunteers who provide services every summer for migrant farm workers in Lenawee County.
By Renee Collins
Daily Telegram,
Sat Apr 26, 2008, 10:36 PM EDT
ADRIAN, Mich. -
For Grace Pizana, volunteering with migrant workers is a mission rooted in her Catholic beliefs.
Grace and her husband, Ray, are among the key people organizing the sacramental “Migrant Ministry” for dozens of families each summer.
The Pizanas were children of migrant families who traveled from south Texas each season. They have volunteered as a couple for the last 17 or 18 years, according to Grace Pizana, although, she acknowledges, “Ray was doing this long before I did.”
“We both grew up working in the fields,” Pizana said. “Our parents were migrant workers who came here each summer.”
There are about a dozen camps, most of them located in the southern and western areas of Lenawee County and in the eastern area of Hillsdale County. For many years, most of the volunteers have come from St. Mary and St. Joseph parishes in Adrian and the Pizanas’ home parish, St. Elizabeth in Tecumseh. Carolina Barrios has handled volunteers from St. Mary’s, while Bob and Sandy Trevino have headed up the St. Joe’s crew, according to Pizana. This year, Catholic Charities of Lenawee is administering the program and a group of parishioners representing all 10 parishes in Lenawee and Hillsdale is meeting to determine how to encourage more involvement from their respective parishes.
“We are hoping to have a representative from each parish serve as a contact person and help organize volunteers,” Grace explained. “With the dairy operations in Hudson and the farms in Hillsdale, we are going to have many more migrants.”
In addition to increasing the number of volunteers from individual parishes, Catholic Charities of Lenawee plans to provide training for volunteers, according to Sue Lewis, CCL director.
“We’re basically here for oversight and coordination,” she said. “We are looking at how the different parishes are doing their outreach programs for migrant families and filling in the gaps.”
She said a calendar of events for the camps would help all migrant families to take advantage of the services provided by volunteers. The calendar could provide Mass and Sacrament of Reconciliation schedules and other events occurring over the summer months. A big problem right now, Pizana said, is there are many people who don’t receive services because “we don’t know about them.”
“It’s hard to know exactly how many migrants there are,” Pizana said. “Last year, in one of the big camps, we had 35 families and 15 to 19 single men.”
The thrust of the volunteer effort is providing preparation for Catholic sacraments such as baptism, First Communion and Confirmation but the volunteers also address basic needs and help with transportation to doctor appointments or other services, Pizana said.
Typically volunteers organize sacramental instruction from “baptism to marriage,” according to Pizana.
“You don’t have to speak Spanish to volunteer,” Pizana said. “You build a relationship with the people in the camps. It’s about reaching out and letting them know we are all here for them.”
How to help
The organization: Migrant worker programs administered by Catholic Charities of Lenawee.
What volunteers do: Provide transportation to and from medical and other appointments and activities; help with welcome baskets; help with school supplies and clothing for children in migrant camps when school starts; assist with sacramental ministry.
How to get involved: Call Grace Pizana at : 734-467-7621