UnidosUS and Constellation Brands continue partnership to elevate Latino financial empowerment among their staff

This year, UnidosUS helped co-found Project ¡GRACIAS!, which provides financial literacy and housing empowerment to employees of Constellation Brands.

In the next 20 years, 70% of new homeowners will be Hispanic. At UnidosUS, we advocate for better access to affordable homeownership through policies and support systems that can unleash the power of our community. Our mission to act as a catalyst for Latinos to achieve the American Dream led us to join forces with ¡SALUD! (Supporting and Attracting Latinos United for Diversity and Development)—Constellation’s Hispanic business resource group— to develop a series of events for employees to learn about financial literacy and housing empowerment. Since 2021, our partnership with Constellation brands has been committed to bringing educational resources to their employees, so that they can succeed in their workplace and work towards their families’ financial goals.

The events took place on May 16 at Constellation’s Robert Mondavi Winery and on May 17 at The Prisoner Wine Company, where approximately 80 team members attended our breakfast or lunch-and-learn sessions.

Along with ¡SALUD! team leaders, we offered sessions in English and Spanish covering the following topics:

• UnidosUS’s Path to Home Purchase counseling available to all California residents,
• Constellation’s own financial security and education benefits
• How to get involved with ¡SALUD!

Our colleague Lizena Zambrano, UnidosUS Program Manager, also shared the positive relationship working with Constellation Brands, Inc. (CBI) staff members and their passion for making sure that every component of the event went smoothly. Zambrano was in attendance, supporting and representing the organization by sharing our resources for make a long-term impact on the economic development and prosperity of the Hispanic community.

Furthermore, our Senior Program Manager Cynthia Burrola assured that these events will result in families achieving meaningful outcomes in areas like savings, debt reduction, and credit building.

Attendees showed their appreciation for the information provided and their feedback was optimistic. Given the success of these first two ¡GRACIAS! events, ¡SALUD! is looking to expand this program to other sites in the foreseeable future.

In addition, volunteers working for Project ¡GRACIAS! also participated in The Resurrection Project, UnidosUS Affiliate based in Chicago, through their Block by Block event throughout July, where they hosted six workshops to help community members buy homes.

The fair included a deep dive into the group’s Full Circle Homes initiative, which is focused on making homeownership attainable for all. The event also included workshops on money management, building your credit, and mortgage applications.

We thank Mike McGrew, Executive Vice President, Chief Communications, CSR, and Diversity Officer at Constellation Brands, and the entire CBI family for their partnership. We look forward to continuing advocating for access to homeownership and financial literacy in our Latino community together.