Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: Spanish Community Center

JOLIET, IL - Patch talks to Spanish Community Center about the work it's doing to provide social services and educational support to the Joliet and surrounding areas.

Patch: Tell Patch a little bit about your organization!

Spanish Community Center: Spanish Community Center was founded as the Spanish Center in 1967 in the City of Joliet, Illinois by the Hernandez and Adler family. Its early goals were to meet the everyday needs of the Latino population in their native language, to make the transition of settling in the community, and learning English as a second language. Today’s Center welcomes all members of the community regardless of race or ethnic origin. We market ourselves as multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-lingual, and multi-generational. We have four core areas of service:

1. Early Childhood Education and Childcare: We offer a two-way bilingual, year round day care for children ages 2 through 5. We utilize the Creative Learning Curriculum and direct our instructional lesson plan toward kindergarten readiness skills through the Preschool for All program.
2. Social Services: Through the Immigrant Family Resource Program and Family Advocacy Center, we serve as a one-stop shop for individuals and families who are afraid or unaware of where to go for help. We provide resource and referral, case management, weekly food pantry, and vouchers for household goods and clothing assistance when resources permit.
3. Citizenship and Immigration and New Americans Initiative: Our center's Citizenship and Immigration Services serve all nationalities and countries of origin. We are a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services' Community Based Organization and are registered with the Illinois Attorney General for immigration services. All Immigration services are only provided to eligible individuals.
4. Adult Education: This includes English as a Second Language classes, citizenship workshops, computer literacy, GED, among others in partnership with Joliet Junior College. Spanish Community Center is a 501 c 3 not-for-profit organization. We are also a partner agency of the United Way of Will County.

Patch: How does your organization help to strengthen the local community?

Spanish Community Center: Our mission is the provision of educational and social services. We provide a broad range of programs and services. We also provide a place for meetings and other organized events which contribute to an active and informed community as well as an inclusive, neighborhood center that reaches outside its immediate service area to serve other Spanish speaking residents in need of our services. We offer a two-way bilingual year round day care for children ages two through five. We utilize the Creative Learning Curriculum and direct our instructional lessons plans toward kindergarten readiness skills. Children are able to experience learning and playing from a culturally rich, diverse, and safe environment. Our weekly food pantry serves about 200 needy families per month.

We are a partner agency of the Northern Illinois Food Bank. We follow their rules and regulations regarding eligibility. Our goal is to give a full box of groceries, as nutritious as possible, to everyone that comes each week. We also provide food baskets on major Holidays that include Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Our center’s immigration and naturalization services serve all nationalities and countries of origin. We are a U.S. immigration and Naturalization Services Community Based Organization and are registered with the Illinois Attorney General for immigration Service. Another major program is social service referral. We serve as the front door for individual and families who are afraid or unaware of where to go for help. This services include English as Second Language, citizenship workshops, and a variety of the other community education forums.

Patch: What is the biggest struggle your organization faces?

Spanish Community Center: The biggest struggle of our organization is outreach. In order to help people in the community, they first must know who we are. We would like to be able to post on the Patch to help people from the community and inform them of our services.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of your nonprofit?

Spanish Community Center: We hope to help improve the quality of life for all low-income people, in Joliet and Will County, IL by providing educational and social services.

Want to see your local nonprofit featured on Patch? Complete a Neighborhood Nonprofit Profile and Patch could spotlight your local organization with a feature article.

Image via Patch Graphics

Information provided by Spanish Community Center of Joliet, Illinois