Community Spotlight is on:

MANA de Hidalgo County, a chapter of MANA, a National Latina Organization

Who are they?

MANA, a National Latina Organization, was founded in 1974 as the Mexican-American Women’s National Association. The mission of MANA is to empower Latinas through leadership development, community service, and advocacy.

What do they do?

MANA’s original intent was to provide a voice for Mexican-American women at the national, State, and local levels. Since then, the organization has expanded into a diverse group of Latinas in all areas of political, social, and professional fields. MANA is the single largest pan-Latina organization in the United States. MANA de Hidalgo County was chartered on December 1, 2001, and is the second chapter to be established in Texas. Extending MANA’s national vision to South Texas, MANA de Hidalgo County seeks to empower Latinas by providing leadership development opportunities, engaging in community service activities, and advocating for issues that affect the Hispanic community. MANA de Hidalgo County also aims to meet the specific needs of young Latina adolescents, ages 11 to 17, through the HERMANITAS® program, a national mentoring and leadership initiative designed to encourage young Latinas to stay in school and pursue high academic goals.

How do they do it?

MANA de Hidalgo County hosts an annual Women’s Empowerment Conference, promotes HIV/AIDS awareness in the community, and conducts financial literacy training using the Freddie Mac CreditSmart program. MANA de Hidalgo County also promotes youth involvement through the HERMANITAS® program, which strives to raise the self-confidence of young girls, raise expectations for the future, help them excel academically, and realize they can become leaders. The HERMANITAS® program is a youth development effort in which MANA and other community members volunteer their time to mentor young Latinas by partnering with their families, schools, other organizations, and the community.

How has ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! helped this organization?

Hablemos en Confianza and ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! initiative materials have been distributed to MANA de Hidalgo County HERMANITAS® and the ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! Community Celebration, held recently. The materials go hand-in-hand with the goals of the HERMANITAS® program, which are to: adopt healthy living strategies and approaches; promote educational achievement and personal enrichment; develop leadership qualities and skills; promote cultural identity, respect, pride, and multicultural awareness; and promote proactive community involvement. Learn more and see pictures of their Community Celebration!

Contact:
Dr. Glendelia M. Zavala, Board President
Email:manadehidalgo@aol.com
Web site: www.hermana.org/chapters/hidalgo
Telefono:(956)565-0791
MANA Web site:www.hermana.org

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