2008 Annual Report - Greater Worcester Community Foundation

Worcester Latino Coalition Scholarship Fund
Advancing aspiring Latinos in health care and human services
6
The first scholarship of the Worcester Latino Coalition
Scholarship Fund went to a Cuban exile who made Dean’s
List while working to support his family. The fund’s 2008
scholarship recipient was his daughter, who is studying to
become a family nurse practitioner.
Helping such aspiring Latinos advance in health care and
human services has been a goal of the Worcester Latino
Coalition since its start. In the 90s, the Coalition worked
with the Office of Community Programs at UMass Medical
School to secure a major grant and establish the Next Step
Initiative in Central Massachusetts. A partnership with
four area colleges, Next Step supports higher education for
Latino health and human service workers, who gain college
credits for work or volunteer experience.
Although the Coalition is no longer active, says Mónica
Lowell, vice president of Community Relations at UMass
Memorial Health Care, “We left our mark on the
community.”
earn a college degree,” says Leo Negron-Cruz, a program
coordinator at Great Brook Valley Health Center. “But they
need to pay tuition.”
The group decided to create an endowed scholarship fund.
They brought their idea to the Foundation and held two
galas that raised thousands of dollars. “We were newcomers
to philanthropy,” says Mónica. “The Foundation guided us
on what it would take to establish a scholarship and made
the process easy for us.”
“We are grateful to the Foundation, which does all
the work,” says Daniel de la Torre, an administrator at
Quinsigamond Community College. “The Foundation
reviews applications, awards grants and informs us of the
recipients.”
Now the group is planning a campaign to expand the fund.
“Every year, we want to keep feeding it,” says Mónica, “so
that it can benefit generations to come.”
But she and other former Coalition members recognized
that the cost of college could be daunting to low-wage health
care workers. “Next Step helps Latino paraprofessionals
Founders of the Worcester Latino Coalition Scholarship Fund are
(from left) Leo Negron-Cruz, Mónica Lowell and Daniel de la Torre as
well as (not in photo) Sara Trillo Adams, Isabel Feliciano, Nancy Jodaitis,
Miriam Torres, RN, and Tammy Zelayas.
We are grateful to the Foundation, which does all the work.
Dan de la Torre
6 Greater Worcester Community Foundation 08 ANNUAL REPORT