El Reflejo Newsletter (Second Quarter)

2nd QUARTER 2016

EDINBURG HOUSING AUTHORITY

El Reflejo Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 2

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RODOLFO “RUDY” RAMIREZ

Main Office

Edinburg Housing Authority 2016 Board of Commissioners CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN RESIDENT COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER JOSE RODRIGUEZ ARMANDO BARRERA EDUARDO GONZALEZ ELIAS LONGORIA JUAN GUZMAN

Ciro Treviño Administration Building 910 S. Sugar Rd. Edinburg, Texas, 78539 Summer Office Hours: Mon.- Thurs.: 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

EHA Graduates become Southwest NAHRO Scholarship Recipients

Two Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) residents were awarded scholarships through the Southwest National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) chapter. Brandon Rodriguez, Albores Courts, and Karla Treviño-Gomez, La Posada, were two of the six resident graduating high school seniors that were awarded scholarships with the seven-state chapter.

Southwest NAHRO is a regional chapter of different types of housing agencies that spread across Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Since 1989, the Southwest Council of NAHRO has awarded over $286,000 in scholarships.

The competitive scholarship program is based on academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, community service, and an essay assignment.

Rodriguez, was recently ranked 9th in the graduating class of Edinburg High School (EHS). In addition to excelling in his academic cur-

These months’ highlights

riculum, he was a member of the EHS orchestra and mariachi group, Primer Orgullo. Besides participating in the fine arts program, Rodriguez also participated in the Mu Alpha Theta, French, Science, and National Honor Society chapters. Rodriguez’s future plans include attending the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and majoring in mechanical engineering. He hopes to seek employment in Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) in order to fulfill his dream of being a part of spacial explorations.

“As a first generation student, being the recipient of such scholarship fills me with great excitement,” said Rodriguez.

Treviño-Gomez graduated from South Texas Business, Education

- Catholic Charities Volunteer Day, Page 2 - 5K Medal-making, Page 3

A publication by the Edinburg Housing Authority, 2016.

& Technology Academy (BETA) and was recognized by the College Board as an AP Scholar. Her accomplishments include being a mentor for BETA’s KickOff Mentors, an orientation program for freshman, Vice-President of VIVA Peer Tutors, a health awareness program, and President of the book club. She will be enrolling as an accounting major at UTRGV this coming fall. Upon receiving her degree, she plans on becoming a public or private accountant.

“I feel honored that they chose me,” said Treviño-Gomez, in regards to being awarded the scholarship. “In a sense, everything I’ve done has paid off.”

The EHA executive director, Rodolfo

“Rudy” Ramirez, is proud of the young residents for being chosen as scholarship recipients. As an advocate for education, Ramirez is excited that both residents will be attending universities to obtain their degrees. It’s EHA’s mission that all residents be able to further their education in order to improve their lives.

“We want people to rethink housing; via education we’re going to meet that goal,” said Ramirez. “Change starts with us.”

- Staff emergency training, Page 2 - UTRGV & EHA, Page 3

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Mother’s Day Event

In honor of Mother’s Day 2016, the Edinburg Housing Authority held its annual Mother’s Day celebration on May 5th at the Albores Courts gymnasium. In collaboration with the Edinburg Department of Parks and Recreation and the City of Edinburg, EHA was

able to host the event for mothers. All who attended made the evening a memorable event as they enjoyed food, music, performances, and speakers. We had an attendance like never before and we are very happy everyone enjoyed the event.

Father’s Day Event

Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) celebrated its annual Father’s Day Event by hosting a movie night for its residents on June 16th, at the Albores Courts gymnasium.

Fathers and their children were encouraged to attend the event to enjoy a movie, popcorn

and pickles, drinks and cake. Door prizes were given to some fathers at the end of the evening, bringing to end a lovely evening.

On behalf of EHA, we would like to wish all fathers a very special belated Father’s Day.

YLA’s Sacred Heart Church Volunteer Day

EHA’s Youth Leadership Association (YLA) volunteered at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen on June 13th, as part of their involvement in community service.

The members volunteered at the church’s refugee center, a donation-based program under Catholic Charities RGV that is directed by Sister Norma Pimentel, which as-

Fire Inspector training and meeting

The Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) staff met with Fire Inspector Ruben Lopez, after having practiced a routine fire drill. During the meeting, the staff engaged in a Q&A with inspector Lopez in regards to fire protocol, precautions, and safety measures.

EHA would like to thank the

Edinburg Fire Department and Fire Inspector Lopez for taking the time to teach our staff about fire safety. We would encourage our residents and community to seek out proper fire safety information and to practice safety measures in their homes. For more information on fire safety, contact your local fire department.

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sists refugees seeking asylum in the United States.

As refugees from Central America arrived, YLA members assisted them by providing them with a change of clothes, personal hygiene items and a meal. The agency would like to thank Sacred Heart Church and Catholic Charities for allowing our young residents to give back to the community.

Lilia Cabrera and medal-making

Mrs. Lilia Cabrera, an Edinburg North High School ceramics teacher, taught some of the Youth Leadership Association (YLA) members how to make clay medals. As an art teacher, Mrs. Cabrera encourages people to be involved in the arts. She hopes the YLA members find some sense of pride by completing this

art project.

The clay medals made by our young residents will be used in the 1st Annual EHA 5K Fun Run/ Walk. Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) would like to thank teacher Lilia Cabrera for allowing our YLA members to participate in this project and look forward to working with her again in the future.

EHA participates in the UTRGV Make a Difference Fair!

The Edinburg Housing Authority proudly participated at the Make a Difference Fair hosted by Office of Student Involvement at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The staff representatives interacted with the students, faculty members, fellow participating agencies and the organizers to inform them of the life changing experiences that EHA has to offer.

The participants were given a brief introduction to the agency and types of opportunities available for them as students,

employees and residents of the city of Edinburg. They became informed on how they can choose EHA as the organization for their final projects or internships. Additionally, they were told about some of EHA’s volunteering opportunities.

We had a great turnout at the event and many students seemed very intrigued by the work and impact EHA is making. We hope to see many of them in the near future volunteering here with us. We are truly grateful to Lora Lee Martinez from the Office of Student Involvement for reaching out to EHA and considering us a potential agency.

EHA Bilingual Story Reading by UTRGV students

UTRGV students from Professor Dr. Amy Weimer’s Psychology Child Development Class had a bilingual reading of the book The Hungry Caterpillar/La Oruga Muy Hambrienta, a picture book by Eric Carle for La Posada children on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 10:30 am.

UTRGV collaborated with the Edinburg Housing Authority with the help of Dr. Dagoberto Ramirez and as part of a Service Learning Project assigned to the

students. The objective of the story reading was to emphasize the importance of bilingualism and nutrition to children.

The UTRGV students planned a scavenger fruit hunt for La Posada children after the bilingual story and provided a variety of crafts based on the book. The children were then able to enjoy the healthy and delicious fruit they found just like the hungry caterpillar in the book.

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AFTERSCHOOL HOMEWORK HELP CELEBRATION

EHA celebrated the last day of Afterschool Homework Help for this school year on Monday, May 2nd from 5 to 7 pm. Children from all five developments enjoyed pizza and treat bags.

EHA wishes to thank Little Caesars Pizza for their generous pizza donation to help our resident students celebrate. The next time you are at Edinburg Little Caesars Pizza, located on 1410 S. Closner, please be sure to ask for the manager and thank them for their support of EHA.

Children also worked on a painting activity and received free books for summer reading during the party. We would like to thank our high school and UTRGV Homework Helpers and parent volunteers for helping and mentoring our young residents. In providing this weekly assistance throughout the school year, EHA Executive Director, Mr. Ramirez, hopes to emphasize the importance of doing well in school to our EHA students. We want EHA

students to be SUPER STUDENTS! Parents, thank you for sending your children to Afterschool Homework Help. Children have access to computers and library books during Homework Help. We are here to answer any questions your child or you as a parent may have about school or homework. We look forward to seeing your child during 2016-2017 Afterschool Homework Help in September!

Homework Help Sessions:

Sessions will resume September 2016 If you are a high school or university student and would like to work as an EHA Afterschool Homework Helper, please contact your property manager and pick up an application at the EHA office. Deadline to submit the application is July 28, 2016. If you have any further questions regarding the homework help session, please contact Araceli Porras @ (956) 383-3839.

Become a great leader!

EHA welcomes all housing students 13 to 19-years-old to join the Youth Leadership Association!

If you have a child that would like to learn more about or be a part of the Youth Leadership Association, he/she can contact Diego Oros at doros@edinburgha.org or call him @ 956-383-3839.

If you know any EHA students that are currently attending college or have attended, as well as any residents that are doing or have accomplished outstanding things, please contact us so we can feature them in the EHA Achievers blog by calling Juan Garcia at 956-383-3839. To view the EHA Achievers Blog please visit http://mediaha.wix.com/ehablog.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS Resident Meeting

Interested in finding out what’s happening at EHA or your development? Come find out at our next Resident Meeting. Meetings are led by the Executive Director Rodolfo “Rudy” Ramirez and all residents are invited. Please contact your property manager for next meeting location, date and time. *Please make arrangements to attend to receive one hour of community service.

Rent deadline

Due monthly by the 1st, but EHA gives you until the 5th to pay in full. There is a $15 fee for late payments.

Community service

Residents 18+ years old who are not exempt must volunteer 8 hours a month in order to comply with HUD’s Community Service Requirement.

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