Community Service Program

 

Our volunteers were essential in all of the activities El Centro Hispano conducted, from its Educational Programs to its bi-monthly food distributions. We are extremely grateful to all our volunteers who made sure our community received the help that they needed during and after the pandemic shut down.

 

Every year since 2001, White Plains High School students give back to their community and earn community service hours through the Community Service Program at El Centro. They serve as tutors and translators, 10 10 distribute flyers for special events, and help distribute food, recruit other students and parents to attend events at El Centro, and set up and organize various other activities throughout the year. 325 students registered to perform community service in 2021.

 

Affordable Care Program Assistance

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Since October 2014, a bilingual representative of the Westchester County Department of Health has been on site at El Centro one full day a week to offer our clients free assistance in completing the application paperwork for the Affordable Care Program. 23 clients were assisted in 2021. Our clients were assisted via telephone to ensure safety for both our clients and the Westchester County Health Department Navigator.

Legal Assistance 

 

Since December, 2019, Robin Bikkal has been the head of our Legal Assistance Program, where she has been providing legal advice on immigration issues every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. In total, 156 clients were assisted in 2021.

 

El Centro Hispano’s Board of Directors and its staff would like to extend our most sincere gratitude and appreciation to Robin Bikkal for her services during these difficult times.

 

Dissemination Services

 

Because of its closeness to and knowledge of the Hispanic community, El Centro Hispano has been called upon since its inception in 1974 by many agencies and organizations in the City of White Plains to communicate and disseminate important information or publications to the local Hispanic population.

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El Centro Hispano’s social media pages and food distribution continue to be essential in spreading the word about important COVID-19 relief programs, COVID-19 vaccine clinics, food distributions, and health information from the City of White Plains and Westchester County.

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The Idania Rosa Cancer Support Program

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Since 2008, El Centro has supported 68 White Plains residents diagnosed with cancer with a range of services including referrals to cancer specialists, assistance in communicating with doctors and hospitals, and/or with modest monetary help.

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Additionally, 6 families received assistance in 2021 from El Centro’s Families in Need Fund.

The Stephen Michael Sules Food Distribution Program

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Since 2013, twice a month, El Centro has also been distributing fresh bread, fruits, dairy products, meat, frozen foods, and vegetables throughout the year. For many years, thanks to a grant from the Giving Circle of Lower Westchester El Centro purchased food from Feeding Westchester for our clients. However, for the last two years, Feeding Westchester has taken it upon themselves to provide these much needed services to our clients.

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In 2021 the Feeding Westchester truck delivered a total of 138,244 pounds of food to 2,825 families from January to December.

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Our Food Distribution program has become the hub of essential services and the official venue for all kinds of special and cultural events.