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Don’t be a Señor/a Grinch; spread the love

12/27/2011 By Leave a Comment

David Castillo Dominici

The U. S. is full of generous people. As a nation, we are a nation of givers and the trend is growing. This fact is important to organizations that depend on charitable giving in order to function, especially in this climate of economic uncertainty when many non profits are also feeling the squeeze of money constraints. It is important for people to feel confident that their donations are well spent. Charity Navigator is a website that rates organizations based on their effectiveness at using donor gifts in the most cost beneficial manner. Please consider a year-end donation to some of the following four star rated charities and spread the love to those who need it.

The Hispanic College Fund: This worthy organization encourages Latino youth through a variety of support systems including mentorship and direct scholarship awards. Their focus is in helping our young people cultivate an interest in the crucially important fields of math, engineering, science and business. To date, the HCF has awarded more than 4,800 students $13 million to further their studies to become Latino professionals.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network: This faith-based charity provides valuable legal services to those most in need of them: low income and indigent immigrants. This charity has greatly expanded its influence and now has field offices in 47 states. Since its inception and to date, 600,000 low income individuals have benefited from the work of approximately 1,000 attorneys and paralegals. The population served may not otherwise have access to legal counsel.

Free The Slaves: In my last article, I highlighted the horrors of modern day sexual slavery, the victims of which are comprised by a majority of Latina women. This important organization provides hands on support to those who are freed from slavery and need rehabilitation to re-enter main stream society. It is an advocacy center and also focuses its efforts in exposing and changing the conditions that allow slavery to flourish.

The National Council of La Raza: This organization has a long history. Founded in 1968, this is the largest national organization that advocates for Latino civil rights and focuses its efforts in five specific areas to keep our Latino interests in the forefront of public policy building. The NCLR promotes these interests in the fields of civil rights and immigration, health, education, economic status within the U.S. society, Latino employment and Latino assets and investments. The Council is active in 41 states as well as in Puerto Rico.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund: This is an excellent, ground breaking organization that fights to advance the cause of humane treatment of animals in the U.S. The ALDF champions stronger enforcement and development of anti-cruelty laws and provided direct legal assistance to stop animal abuse and to help prosecute those accused of this horrific crime. Hundreds of attorneys work tirelessly on behalf of those who have no voice and provides public education about the plight of abused animals.

Let’s push a wave of Latino philanthropy. Please consider a donation to a worthy charity this holiday season.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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Filed Under: Comunidad
About Maitri Pamo

Matri was born in Guatemala City and emigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was a toddler. Her childhood years were spent in Washington D.C. She was fortunate to have been aided and encouraged to apply to a great school in Virginia by a teacher who saw a spark in her when she taught her in the DC public school system. Maitri was disadvantaged in that she then became the only Latina in her class for many years. When it came time to go to college, she left for New York City, the place of her childhood dreams, to attend Barnard College, Columbia University. She graduated with a degree in Foreign Area Studies, with a concentration in Latin America. When she finally realized what she wanted to do professionally, she enrolled in three extra years of undergraduate coursework in order to fulfill the requirements for application to veterinary medical school. She graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine with a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

In addition to her professional life, a life she finds not only rewarding but constantly challenging, Maitri is a wife and a mother of three young children. She is an activist, interested in furthering knowledge, participating and directly involving herself in the areas of human and non human animal rights and environmentalism. She tries to engage in the world around her to influence it as much as she can to help secure a healthy, peaceful living environment for her children and all other living beings on the planet. She is a benevolent misanthrope, a polyglot, a lover of travel. She has wild plans of obtaining a law degree when her children are older. She is currently practicing emergency medicine and volunteers her services wherever they are needed.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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