We highlight three outstanding UnidosUS Affiliates

Get to know these three outstanding community-based organizations who were honored during our 2022 Annual Conference in San Antonio.

The Annual Conference brought us together to recognize and acknowledge the work our Affiliates do all year round on behalf of Latino communities throughout the United States. Here are our winners for the Helen Rodriguez-Trias Health Award, LGBTQ Champion Award, and Advocacy Award.

See also: One Stop Career Center is our Affiliate of the Year

Helen Rodriguez-Trias Health Award: Mexican-American Council, Inc.

With over 30 years of service, the Mexican American Council (MAC) located in Homestead, Florida is a well-respected advocate on community issues and an agent of positive change dedicated to advancing the living standards of the farmworker community and youth.  They received this year’s Helen Rodriguez-Trias Health Award for showing exemplary dedication to addressing health issues during the pandemic.

When COVID-19 began affecting the communities of low-income, Spanish-speaking migrant farmworkers and their US-born children, MAC partnered with UnidosUS as part of the  vaccination awareness campaign “Esperanza Hope for All.” This innovative educational campaign addressed misinformation and created partnerships with local health organizations to ensure the community had equitable access to vaccinations. You can learn more about MAC’s work here.

LGBTQ Champion Award: Mary’s Center

Located in our nation’s capital, Mary’s Center offers accessible, convenient, and culturally competent care to the LGBTQ community. They were honored with the LGBTQ Champion Award for exemplifying exceptional leadership and a commitment to the LGBTQ community.

The Center has behavioral health providers who assist children, adolescents, and adults who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming with any emotional, social, or trauma concerns they may have experienced. At a moment in history when some of our states are removing services from our LGBTQ community, Mary’s Center has stepped up as a provider of specialized services and sometimes just offering a helping hand. Learn more about Mary’s Center here.

Advocacy Award: National Parents Union

The National Parents Union (NPU) has been a key thought and advocacy partner of UnidosUS in elevating the voices of low-income parents and parents of color to inform and influence policy, especially throughout the pandemic.  NPU seeks to ensure parents are engaged in co-creating what an equitable educational recovery looks like. NPU has been a critical partner providing parents’ perspectives on a range of issues, regularly conducting and sharing parent polling data that helps to inform our work, and partnering to conduct parent focus groups to inform the future of assessments and accountability.  Learn more about National Parents Union here.

These Affiliates joined Puerto Rico’s One Stop Career Center, who received the Affiliate of the Year Awards, as well as our regional affiliate of the year winners:

California Regional Affiliate of the Year: TODEC Legal Center

Far West Regional Affiliate of the Year: Promise Arizona (PAZ)

Midwest Regional Affiliate of the Year: Latino Policy Forum

Northeast Regional Affiliate of the Year: Neighborhood Housing of Queens CDC, Inc.

Texas Regional Affiliate of the Year: Mexican American Unity Council (MAUC)

We celebrate our Affiliate partners and all the work they do in support of communities throughout the country. For more information about our Affiliate Network, please visit unidosus.org.