Season’s Greetings Dear Friends Even though our reality has changed and our way of life had to be changed, Latinas On The Plaza had a very good year. We still managed to do the work of our mission, which is to equip, empower, and engage girls and women of color in their pathway to success in school, work and in her community. We were able to continue our work due to the generosity of our donors. As President and Founder of Latinas On The Plaza, I am so proud to share with you some of the successes we’ve had this year. And, so as the year comes to a close, I want to thank you for your support. It was your donation that kept our doors opened. Luz Canino-Baker
Refiring My first priority this year was to resurrect our programs with in-person sessions for our students. The lack of social interaction was triggering feelings of isolation and the similarity to the Groundhog movie daily experiences was leading some to despondency and stagnation. Our focus was on motivating our alumni and students to continue to prepare for a brighter future. To use this time to develop their strengths, set goals, and to strengthen their financial acumen to ride the wave of financial uncertainty.
Successes I want to recognize how our students, faculty and alumni made the most of another unpredictable year. There is so much to be proud of, and thanks to support from donors like you we accomplished so much.
• We were fortunate to receive a grant from a
• We were able to keep our classroom location in
• Luz Canino-Baker, won
Brookfield, IL with rent and other expenses paid.
• We brought over 50 of our Alumni together for an
annual celebration in a public park to reinforce our network of powerful girls and women supporting one another.
private family foundation that enabled us to cover our operating cost this year.
the Women of Influence Award from the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Luz is the first recipient to receive the award.
• We moved back to an in-person ArcHer
Leadership Program finishing in June with a small cohort of rising Latina leaders. Each leader is now executing a growth plan with accountability.
• We participated in a successful fundraising campaign with our local community.
• We completed the Little Arrows Program with 11
• We held our first virtual fundraiser in August. We now have a Fundraiser Tool that will allow us to host live fundraiser in the future with ease. And, we now have a professional video that allows us to share how our programs impact the lives of our students from little girls, to college-age, and then to career women. If you haven’t seen our video you can easily find it on Luz Canino-Baker YouTube and look for Virtual Fundraiser.
little girls ages 4 through first grade who faced their fears on High Ropes & Zip lines and learned teamwork in classes once a month.
• We won a two-month social media grant from
Paul Gregory Media that resulted in increased impressions, engagements, and awareness throughout Chicagoland.
• We developed a curriculum for teenage girls,
which focuses on helping them to see their full potential and the many opportunities ahead of them. This program will be piloted in 2022.
• Our largest donor Glasser & Rosenthal family
made two significant donations as they ended their foundation, including funding our Donor Management System for two more years. THANK YOU!
• We created a Video that captures the Latinas On
The Plaza Pathway from the dreams of a 7 year old, to the journey of a young woman, to the steps of leadership.You can view our video through our website: Latinasontheplaza.org>Media
• We grew our Board from 4 directors to 8 directors this year.
• Our Board President won the International Women of Influence Award
Latinas On The Plaza publishes a quarterly newsletter featuring the stories of women who have benefitted from being part of one of our programs. You can view all the issues at Latinasontheplaza.org>Newsletters
Helping Women of Color Rise to Their Full Potential
What’s Ahead In 2022, we will pilot a program for teenage girls. We have had several requests to provide programming for this age group and thanks to our generous donors we were able to create a teen girl curriculum. In 2022, we will be running an in-person FUERTE/Growing Strong Boot Camp for Success Program for young women of color who aspire more for their lives but lack resources, mentors, and direction for their pathway to success. We will be offering full scholarships to our students to remove the barrier of cost to complete the program. We are excited to have some women bankers from New York City to serve as mentors for this cohort. This will be our Sixth Cohort for this program. We are excited to start our New Year with a Board double the size of the last two years. Some are former Alumni from our Leadership Program. Our Little Arrows Program has grown to serve 32 little girls ages 4-8 years old. We are running three cohorts that will finish in May 2022. All these initiatives require reliable funding from private donors like you. We hope you are just excited as we are and will continue to support us with your generosity.
Caring and Sharing
Latinas On The Plaza became a 501-C-3 non-profit organization in 2015. Our focus is on accelerating the pathway to success for women of color. Our experience shows that women of color including little girls thrive in environments of like-minded, age groups and culturally inviting learning environments. We have designed programs that cater to the needs of women of color who have chosen professional careers and/or entrepreneurship. We strengthen her leadership skills, Her life skills and Her soft skills.
OUR MISSION
To revolutionize professional women of color thoughts and beliefs about power in order to empower them to seek positions of authority with confidence, ability, and determination.
OUR VISION
To change the landscape of corporate America with Latinas occupying the C-Suites, leading in their communities, and reinvesting their time and money in helping the next generation succeed.
Please consider being a positive force in a young woman’s future with a generous gift today. A gift of $250 or more can provide great opportunities. You can make a gift of any amount you choose. Every gift makes a difference. Perhaps you would like to give $20
per month. The decision is up to you.
Visit our secure online giving page on our website Latinasontheplaza.org, or use the enclosed envelope.
Thank you from the 400 women who now know success in their lives.
Happy Holidays!