NEWBURGH – Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley held its seventh Annual Hispanic Heritage Cultural Celebration on Saturday at the Hudson Valley Hotel and Convention Center.

 

Each year, the group invites the Hudson Valley community to share in culture, food, and entertainment during Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s also a time for Latinos Unidos to provide a progress report and the agenda for the upcoming year.

 

Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley has been very busy this year. The organization has completed its move to their new locale in the Newburgh Armory Unity Center on South Williams Street in Newburgh. They are still unpacking boxes, according to their Community Liaison Millie Caceres.

They have partnered with many other community based organizations for various workshops, a cultural showcase, and an HIV AIDS teen pregnancy prevention program (Cuidate) and ESL Classes.

 

Latinos Unidos has also formed a recreational soccer club and plans on hosting many more workshops and programs in the coming year. The group has become a prime referral service for the community in the areas of immigration, education, economic development, housing and other issues affecting the community at large.

 

The celebration is also the group’s primary source of funding. Money raised is used to pay rent, utilities, operations and putting on workshops, so they don’t have to charge those seeking their assistance.

 

Peter Gonzalez, President of Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley, gave a special "thank you" to M&T Bank for their continued corporate sponsorship. "At M&T Bank, we’ve always believed the success of the bank is directly related to the success of the communities we serve," stated M&T 17K Branch Manager Lisette Ortiz. "Through our local sponsorships and employee volunteers, M&T has also tried to actively support those organizations, such as Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley, which make the Hudson Valley a better place to live and work."

 

Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, Orange County Sheriff Carl DuBois, City of Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy and City of Newburgh Deputy Mayor Regina Angelo were a few of the many elected officials in attendance. Each voiced their support of the great work Latinos Unidos is doing in the community.

 

"It’s a privilege to be able to participate in the activities in the community here in the Hudson Valley. We are united in our diversity. Latinos Unidos invited me to join them tonight and I was happy to do so and to learn more about the great work that they do and to support them here," Hayworth said.

 

To learn more about Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Valley, visit www.LatinosUnidosHV.org.

 

This article was published by Hudson Valley Press Online and can be found here.