Your Giving Matters to Our Hispanic Community

Dear Friend,  

For more than three decades, Esperanza has worked to strengthen our Hispanic community. We offer a rich array of programs and services designed to open paths of HOPE and OPPORTUNITY. We are deeply committed to empowering each of the 25,000 individuals we serve each year, and their families, to move out of poverty and realize their goals.

In the midst of the coronavirus situation, Esperanza continues to deliver services remotely and on the ground within the parameters of health and safety to make sure that the progress we have made together in our Hunting Park neighborhood remains. Esperanza will remain here available to serve our Hispanic community, and we want to ensure that those we serve will too. The average household income is about $24,000 here. With your support, we can ensure that our community receives the resources and services we need to emerge from this situation connected and undeterred.

It is no secret that this health and economic crisis is impacting communities of color to a greater extent – compounding decades of under resourcing. We need to ensure that financial contributions reach our hard-hit Hispanic communities.

You can take powerful action through your giving, TODAY

As a trusted provider located in the heart of Hispanic North Philadelphia, Esperanza is well-positioned to ensure that families receive the supports and services they need. 

Your gift will allow Esperanza to:

  • Equip homeowners to avoid foreclosure, purchase homes, and rent – our bilingual counselors are seeing a growing need for financial assistance to prevent homelessness;
  • Provide small business owners with information about emergency grants and loans, and support them to overcome linguistic and technological barriers to apply; 
  • Ensure that our college students, who are often the first in their families to attend, can continue their education despite economic hardship;
  • Deliver needed legal services and referrals to ensure that immigrants can remain a vibrant part of our communities – including those who arrived here as children and have only ever known the U.S. as home;
  • Forge new ways to deliver performing arts and preserve our cultural traditions via accessible live stream platforms at Teatro Esperanza;
  • Provide residents with timely information in English and Spanish, including local resources, health information, encouraging news, and how to remain civically engaged.

We are grateful that you are a part of the Esperanza community of supporters. Please stand with us in these difficult times by making your gift today.

Blessings,                                                       

The Reverend Luis Cortes, Jr.

p.s. Click below to make your gift! Then scroll on to read the stories that inspire our team to press ahead. I hope they motivate you too - and with your gift, we expect many more stories of HOPE to come.                       

Maria's Restaurant: Back in Action

Maria's Restaurant has been a fixture along the Hunting Park 5th Street corridor, offering authentic Caribbean food at affordable prices since 1997. Together with her sons and local employees, she serves an average of 100 people each day. Maria closed the restaurant on March 16th due to the coronavirus, taking with it her family's only source of income. Esperanza worked with Maria and her sons to ensure they could successfully apply for several small business grants and loans. Maria has received $7,500 in funding from the City of Philadelphia Commerce Department and The Merchant's Fund combined. With these resources, Maria's family will be able to resume their operations with safety precautions, and the area will benefit from Maria's Restaurant's longstanding presence and warm meals once again.

Sofia Serves at the Frontlines

Sofia (name changed) arrived in the U.S. at the age of 5 and obtained Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. This allowed her to attend college to become a nursing assistant and to work here. Sofia is currently caring for COVID-19 patients in Philadelphia, risking her life each day to deliver compassionate care. Sofia renewed her DACA with the support of Esperanza's Immigration Legal Services, and is hopeful that there will not be an adverse decision in the future. She shares,If DACA was to be removed I would be heartbroken. I no longer would be able to translate and give my Spanish-speaking COVID patients hope and comfort. I would [have] my future ripped away from me." Esperanza is continuing to ensure that immigrants like Sofia have access to the legal services and support they need as they contribute to our communities.

Esperanza works to strengthen our Hispanic communities every day. That work is more important now, than ever.

 ¡Gracias por ser parte de nuestra familia!

4261 North 5th St., | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140
215-324-0746 | development@esperanza.us

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