New York Portuguese Community helps Portugal's Firefighters

The Associação Humanitária de Bombeiros Voluntários Flavienses, founded on February 3, 1889, celebrated on Sunday, February 3rd, 130 years of history in their service to Chaves and Portugal.

The Secretary of State for Civil Protection, José Arthur Neves, and the Mayor of Chaves, Nuno Vaz, presided over the celebrations that took place in what was the address of the Association for several decades, Largo General Silveira.

The celebrations included the presentation of the forest fire-fighting vehicle acquired on the basis of funds raised in two charitable actions organized by NYPALC - New York Portuguese American Leadership Conference in the New York Portuguese Community, namely at the Mineola Portuguese Center and the Portuguese American Club of Mount Vernon.

Representing NYPALC, in this official ceremony, was Mr. José Joaquim Pereira, a native from Chaves and president of the ‘Casa do Benfica Mineola’, a member organization of NYPALC, who officiated the sponsoring of the Tactical Forest Tank Vehicle, with the operational acronym VTTF 03.

The New York Portuguese American Leadership Conference (NYPALC) is the association of Portuguese-American organizations in the State of New York. NYPAPC is an independent, non-profit organization with no political affiliations that empowers the New York Portuguese and Portuguese American citizens through advocacy, civic engagement, community development and, education. Currently with 67 member organizations, NYPALC represents approximately 180,000 Portuguese and Portuguese Americans in the State of New York.