On Sunday, August 16, San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (SMUUF) hosted Dr. Ricardo Espinoza, Executive Director of Centro, to their Zoom Worship Service to tell them more about Centro and how they are handling activities during the pandemic.
Jeannie Lewis, SMUUF Social Justice Chair, said, "SMUUF has partnered with Centro for several years and we love it when they come to our services and share with SMUUF what is going on at Centro." Centro is a nonprofit organization that has been around for nine years, and they satisfy the educational and cultural needs of stake-holders from 3 to 99 years of age. Also, they provide meeting spaces for area agencies and entities and have a library, museum, and hallway gallery. The mission of Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos (Centro) is to serve as a community beacon for the preservation, development, promotion, and celebration of the Hispanic arts, culture, heritage, and values.
Like all organizations, Centro has been impacted by the COVID - 19 pandemic. Dr. Espinoza says, "We have migrated to doing virtual programming. Our ArtSpace, Camp Ole, and FAMA/NASA Programming are being done virtually with enrollees picking up supplies to create and share. We have added adult Spanish and French Conversational Classes and are moving toward making our Museum experience virtual. We are continuing to grow our partnerships and have added the League of Women Voters, Calaboose, and Texas Folklife as our new partners. Visit us on the web at www.sanmarcoscentro.org"
Centro has plans for how to use the SMUUF $500 donation. They want to purchase a portable floor for their Ballet Folklorico Program. They have applied for other funds but were not selected. They will continue to make other attempts to raise money.
Dr. Espinoza said, "On behalf of our stakeholders, employees, Board of Directors, and everyone else, we appreciate SMUUF's generosity in supporting all that we do at Centro. It is with the great support of organizations like yours that allow Centro to continue the great work that we do in being 'All-Encompassing' and 'All-Inclusive'."
For more information about SMUUF go to their website at www.smuuf.org or contact Jeannie Lewis, SMUUF Social Justice Chair, at [email protected].
