Dine and Wine, Latino Style!

Join the Latino Community Foundation on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. for an fun night with friends while enjoying an exclusive prix fixe dinner at Cosecha Cafe at the historic Swans Market in Old Oakland.

Tickets include dinner prepared by Chef Dominca Rice of Cosecha Cafe, wine from premier Latino wineries, and chocolate by Casa de Chocolates. To register and purchase tickets, click here. Space is limited. Please register by November 11, 2011.

Go to Event Page, click here.

Community Conversaciones: A Portrait of California

The Latino Community Foundation is hosting Community Conversaciones to review and discuss A Portrait of California, the first Human Development report about our State. The Conversación will take place on Friday, October 21, 2011 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the The San Francisco Foundation.

Kristen Lewis, Co-Director of the American Human Development Project will present the finding of the human development report, which will be followed by an interactive panel of experts: 

Julia López, President and CEO, College Access Foundation of California

Betsy Baum Bloch, VP of Evaluation and Insight, United Way of the Bay Area

Maria Lemus, Executive Director, Visión y Compromiso: California Promotoras Network

Community Conversaciones is the LCF speaker series that aims to bring community members together to address pressing issues that impact Latino families and highlight solutions for change.

Latino Digital Divide Mirrors Education Inequity in California

Raquel F. Donoso, Executive Director of the Latino Community Foundation

In President Obama’s State of the Union Address he said we must out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. This can only happen if all children have access to services many of us take for granted, like the internet.  The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released a study finding that only 55% of Latinos in California have high-speed internet access at home.  Prosperity cannot reside where there is disparity.

After working in the Latino community for two decades I do not find these results surprising.  In every study related to education we find Latino students at the bottom of the ladder.  Latinos rank extremely low in student achievement with only 30% reaching reading proficiency by the 3^rd grade and 20% achieving Algebra proficiency by the 8^th grade, key indicators in determining high school completion and college readiness.

This is why internet access at home is so important.  Latino students are already at a financial disadvantage to many of their peers.  Add on top of that the inability to do homework or take online tests at home and we have a perfect storm for educational failure. 

I know there are many who cite recent studies that show Latinos and African Americans are out indexing others in their use of smartphones.  I am optimistic about this trend and know we cannot rely on phones for everything.  Phones can reduce the ‘internet usage’ divide but not the educational divide.

My son recently graduated high school and I have witnessed his increasing reliance on the computer to take tests, write reports, and conduct research, which is very difficult on a smartphone.  We cannot cloud the digital equity issue by pointing to another diversion that does not address the need to connect the remaining 45% of Latinos.

What can be done to eliminate this digital divide?  At the Latino Community Foundation we invest in proven solutions that connect monolingual Spanish-speaking residents to the internet. 

Our innovative program brings together a network of trusted community organizations that provides training through mobile, wireless computer stations.  By training families about the resources available online we show people that the internet is for everyone and can help them look for jobs, reconnect with family, and enhance children’s learning.  Our parents are so interested in being connected our partners can’t always keep up.  

Yet many simply cannot afford the cost of purchasing a computer and home broadband service.  The cost barrier is real in California where the average Latino family makes less than $37,000 a year.  The PPIC study indicates that 66% of all Californians think high-speed broadband access should be viewed as a public utility, such as water and power, and not a luxury that keeps disadvantaged families out of the 21^st century.

If California is to join the nation to out-innovate and out-educate the world we must invest in programs that train families about the world of possibilities available online and reduce the cost barrier.  The future of California is counting on us.

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In Honor of Gary Hernandez, former LCF Trustee and Legal Counsel

1959-2011

Nationally recognized lawyer and community servant, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 52. He served as a long time trustee of the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) and was instrumental in making the pivotal decision to have LCF become a supporting organization of The San Francisco Foundation in 2002, hence securing LCF’s mission and vision. Gary was a good friend to many of LCF’s Board of Trustees, and was Ret. Senator Art Torres’ finance chair during his Insurance Commissioner's race in 1994, while serving as Deputy to Commissioner John Garamendi.

Gary's commitment to the community was among his highest priorities. Named one of the Most Influential Hispanics of the United States, he served on the board of directors of the California Coastal Conservancy and as a founding trustee of the University of California, Merced Foundation. His leadership, mentoring, warmth, passion and generous spirit will be remembered by all with whom he shared his time. 

For a full obituary, visit Gary’s guest book click here. Donations can be made in Gary's name to California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (www.crla.org) or a charity of your choice.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 23rd at the San Francisco Four Seasons Hotel beginning at 2:00 p.m.

A video tribute to Gary Hernandez from Sandra Hernandez can be viewed by clicking here.

Latino Community Foundation Convenes Education Leaders