The following article was written by Gulf Coast Community Foundation and appeared on Sarasota Magazine’s website on June 28, 2024.
Imagine moving to another country and community with a new language to learn and so many challenges and opportunities on the horizon. Thanks to local nonprofit, UnidosNow, Hispanic/Latino families in our region are going through transformational experiences with strong leadership, community connections, and powerful, immersive programming to help navigate their lives.
Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) was instrumental in helping to create and launch UnidosNow. Together with Gulf Coast donors, since 2014, the Foundation has granted over $1 million to the nonprofit organization. UnidosNow’s mission is to elevate the quality of life of the growing Hispanic/Latino community in the Manatee and Sarasota region through education, integration, and civic engagement. Since its inception, UnidosNow has served over 4,200 low-income Hispanic/Latino students, their parents, and grandparents through multigenerational programming that touches students and families in programs from elementary through high school. Their goal is to further elevate the lives of low-income, first-generation students and their families through their successful educational programming and community partnerships.
The year started with excitement for the future as UnidosNow welcomed its new Executive Director, Evelyn Almodóvar. With a background in human services and a decade of knowledge of this area, she is poised to bring UnidosNow’s impact to great heights. Under Almodóvar’s leadership, Gulf Coast recently awarded UnidosNow with a grant to provide transportation for their summer programming. One of the issues facing our community was the challenge of helping students get to activities and youth serving organizations. Through this partnership, students were able to access critical summer-intensive programming, as they learned how to use LinkedIn, build their resumes, navigate the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and more. They made plans for post-high school and connected to employment opportunities and post-secondary education. “The impact that transportation has had in our work is amazing. It allows us to transition from online programming to in-person. Last year, we served 35 high school students and this year we have been able to welcome 62,” shared Almodóvar.
The inspirational stories of UnidosNow’s students are remarkable. Isabella Macias holds a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Never too busy, Isabella continues to serve as a UnidosNow College Coach, mentoring current teenage students in UnidosNow’s Future Leaders Academy. Another College Coach, Mina Quesen is an alumnus of the Future Leaders Academy who recently graduated from Princeton University with an English major.
UnidosNow’s Co-Founder, Kelly Kirschner, shared his excitement for Almodóvar’s new leadership, the students’ journeys to success, and expounded on the history of UnidosNow and Gulf Coast. “Our gratitude goes to the vision of Gulf Coast and their staff who really understood and empowered us to start addressing this need shortly after the organization was founded in 2010. I don’t know if UnidosNow gets to 2024 with the investment and thousands of students and families that we’ve touched without Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s support. That ripple effect is and will reverberate in this region for generations and we’re only getting started.”
In the beginning, UnidosNow was created to help with language barriers. “We wanted a place where a cautious immigrant community would feel safe and get the support they needed,” said Kirschner. The nonprofit works on multi-generational education for grandparents, children, and grandchildren in their programs, aligning with Gulf Coast’s vision of thriving communities with opportunities for all. UnidosNow strives to ensure that all families have the ability to thrive, do well, and prosper, and that when they do, our economy and quality of life grow. This provides a transformational experience for individuals in their program who are eager to learn and grow in their community. “One of the biggest things I see in the Latino community is accessing resources and becoming aware of them. We want people to know where to go for help,” said Almodóvar.
Together, we can all celebrate the richness of the cultures within our community and give everyone the opportunity to dream big on their journey to success.
