Dear TLA Friend and Supporter,
We are pleased to share with you our new logo & new corporate name:
Together for Latinas, Inc.!
Together for Latinas best expresses our desire to partner with caring providers and individuals who share our vision of supporting the advancement of our Latina youth. We see a future where all Latina girls have access to positive role models and life skills that promote healthy behaviors, well-being and fulfillment. Through our program, La Mariposa (Butterfly): A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas, Together for Latinas celebrates and empowers young Latinas.
Since our incorporation in 2009, our volunteers have delivered our signature program, but our ability to reach program participants had been limited to Connecticut’s New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield counties. At the same time girls wanted more sessions and time with us, and the demand for our workshops continued to increase and outpace the number of volunteers who were able to deliver our program.
Over the past two years we have realigned our approach to serving Latina youth. We have rewritten our curriculum using a self-guided approach to delivering the program model with fidelity, ensuring that facilitators can deliver the program as intended for consistent and positive outcomes for girls. La Mariposa is rooted in the Latina experience and built on the foundational principals of effective programming for girls, using a relational, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approach throughout the sessions. This unique combination is integrated throughout the 12 session curriculum, providing facilitators with a structured format, instructions for creating a safe space, and activities that create opportunities for girls to support one another while sharing their ideas and experiences with a trusted adult.
We are thrilled with the feedback we are receiving about La Mariposa so far! Groups are running and girls and facilitators are calling it "an AMAZING experience".
We recognize the need for more culturally-sensitive programming and we are partnering with national organizations to promote and offer La Mariposa. We look forward to sharing more about this with you in the coming weeks!
You can help us bring La Mariposa to your community by connecting us with a provider or individual who shares our vision! Contact us for details at info@togetherforlatinas.org.
Thank you for your continued support and interest. We are confident that together we will create positive and lasting change in the lives of our Latina youth!
Sincerely,
Eliana Nuñez, Chair of Board of Directors
& Nancy Roldán Johnson, Creator and co-founder
Visit our NEW website!
To learn more about the launch of La Mariposa, click here!
In a news report dated March 23, 2016, the Associated Press announced that Peter Buffet, son of billionare investor Warren Buffet, plans to invest $90 million to help improve the lives of women and girls of color. "Our goal is to create the conditions for change by advancing the work of the real experts in this movement: girls and young women of color and the advocates working with them," Peter Buffett said.
Reporter Jesse J. Holland with the Associated Press wrote, "Even before the White House got involved, other groups around the country were working specifically on improving the lives of girls of color, including through programs like Black Girls Rock! Inc. and The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc."
"The brilliant leadership of women of color activists all over this country has created a national movement to address these disparities, and philanthropy can and must do its part to respond and to support this movement," said Pamela Shifman, executive director of the NoVo Foundation. "This is a breakthrough moment for girls and women of color, and we want to help ensure that it translates into lasting and meaningful change."
We (Together for Latinas, Inc.) are proud to have been part of this movement early on, and we recognize that we were able to do so thanks to your support and belief in our mission. Thank you!
Update on The Latina A.R.M.Y. Board of Directors
We are delighted to welcome three new board members to the TLA Board of Directors, Jennifer Medina, Alba Singh, and Anitress Rivera! Please join us in welcoming them to our team!
Jennifer Medina
Jennifer has been part of the Yale University Investment Accounting department since 2008. She has been a Yale Latino Networking Group Steering Committee member (Yale’s Latino affinity Group) since 2009, and became co-chair in 2014. She is dedicated to enhancing and supporting the network for Latino staff at all levels at Yale. A member of NSHMBA (National Society of Hispanic MBA’s), an organization that “exists to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development. Jennifer also a wife and mother of 4 daughters and is an active member of her local church. She is committed to serving her community in various way. Jennifer earned a B.A. from the University of New Haven and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of New Haven.
Alba Singh
Alba is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and has acquired 20 years of healthcare experience working at Cigna Corporation. She is member of the Hispanic/Latino CRG at Cigna, participates in NSHMBA (National Society of Hispanic MBA) events and is on the board at the Hispanic Health Council.
‘Alba Rudys Colón de Singh’ born to Dominican parents in Puerto Rico and raised in Connecticut, has a rich Hispanic culture, an American education and married to an Indian Guyanese. She proudly balances the best of all the cultures and aims to live a happy peaceful life; a skill she would love to see in all young Latinas. She feels passionate about guiding young ladies to take pride in their value and reach for the stars. Hence, she has been a facilitator for La Mariposa Program and now proudly serves on the board.
Alba hopes to help spread La Mariposa Program across the nation with the goal to enrich the lives of many young Latinas. She believes La Mariposa Program will teach the girls to take pride in their culture and in themselves and become our leaders of the future.
Anitress Rivera
Anitress Rivera has had an exemplary career at Cigna Healthcare for the past 22 years which has afforded her an extensive knowledge of Cigna’s core products and values. With the majority of her time spent in Underwriting, National Accounts, for the past 8 years she has managed the financial reporting team supporting both Regional & National Account Underwriting Operations. Anitress’ scope often bridges a gap between business, technical and financial requirements as she works very closely with both the IT/Informatics organization in conjunction with Underwriting and Sales leadership. In addition to ensuring her team exceeds customer satisfaction and data quality objectives; she is also passionate about development and co-leads the Underwriting Diversity & Inclusion Council to foster Cigna’s D&I mission. Anitress has proudly served as a Customer Centricity Ambassador and also has taken active roles in Cigna’s Colleague Resource Groups (CRG’s). She was a member of the Hartford, Connecticut chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) for 7 years and served as Director of Events. Throughout her roles she has mastered the art of coordinating professional seminars and quality events for sponsors and members. Anitress is a dedicated leader that takes pride in presenting herself professionally with a passion towards promoting cultural awareness in the workplace and in the community. Anitress is dedicated to realizing TLA’s mission and fundraising goals.
Recent News about Latina Youth Development
We are seeing improvements in outcomes for Latina youth! It's critical to continue to invest in services that work to support the positive development of our girls!
Improvements in graduation rates among Latinas
According to the December 2015 report by Patricia Gándara, Professor of Education, UCLA and Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project and The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics titled FULFILLING AMERICA’S FUTURE: LATINAS IN THE U.S., 2015, "one in four female students in public schools across the nation is a Latina. Projections are that by 2060, Latinas will form nearly a third of the female population of the nation. Thus, the future of the nation is very much tied to the future of these women and girls."
The report acknowledges that "in the decade between 2003 and 2013, Latinas raised their high school graduation rate by more than 14 percentage points – an amazing leap. They have been steadily increasing in college degree attainment by about .5 percentage points each year, and over the last decade they have raised their representation between 30 and 40 percent in teaching, law, medicine, and management professions. Latina-owned businesses are also growing at a faster rate than businesses for all women and accounted for more than $71 billion in receipts in 2014. In spite of a myriad of barriers, Latinas have made significant progress over the last decade, yet they are not all faring as well as they must if they are to be able to realize their aspirations and make important contributions to the society and the economy."
"Latinas graduate from high school at lower rates than any major subgroup; more than one in five has not completed high school by age 29. Latinas are also the least likely of all women to complete a college degree, at just 19 percent compared to nearly 44 percent of white women."
50% Drop in Latina Teen Birth Rates!
According to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, birth rates* among all teens are at an all-time low and, while birth rates for Latina teens are still double that of white non-Latinas, birth rates among Latina teens have declined 50% since 2008! The report identified many key factors to this steady decline, such as "effective contraceptive methods" and "pregnancy prevention programs and messages directed to teens" including intervention/prevention programs and reality TV shows such as MTV's Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant.
*live births per 1,000
La Mariposa - HOW IT WORKS
* 2 facilitators: recommended one Latina and helper
* 12 sessions weekly or twice weekly, 90 minutes each
* 6-10 girls grouped by age / emotional development
* Facilitator's guide with step-by-step instructions for how to prepare and what to expect
* Culturally-relevant themes and discussions
* Facilitator instructions for strengths-based and trauma strategies
* Self-guided 12 session curricula with instructions, script samples, activities and handouts
* Familiar program outline and, where applicable, cultural and clinical relevance of the topics covered:
1. Opening, Assessments and Introductions
2. Activities/Discussions
3. At Home Practice
4. Closing
BENEFITS
La Mariposa will introduce girls to valuable skills that will:
> Help girls develop healthy relationships with themselves, others and their community.
> Provide girls with compassionate, culturally sensitive, and inspirational role models to share success stories and to listen to them.
> Provide girls with an understanding of the value and importance of education in the development of their aspirations.
> Develop personal empowerment abilities.
> Reinforce a sense of pride and connection with Latina culture
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