It is with honor and gratitude that we announce, Familias en Acción is the recipient of a $2 million gift from the Yield Giving Open Call, an initiative created by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
In 2023, our Development team completed a multi-step application and peer-review process to apply for this funding opportunity. From a pool of over 6,000 applicants, we were one of 361 organizations across the country, and one of only three organizations in Oregon to receive an award.
This transformational gift will enable us to continue to deliver on our mission of strengthening the health and well-being of Latino families and communities in Oregon. It will allow us to sustain and expand programming statewide in Oregon, directly benefiting members of our community.
We want to thank all of our staff, board, community members, partners, and donors for helping us to get to this point. This award would not have been possible without everyone’s dedication to and belief in our health equity work.
Thank you for your continued support, partnership, and words of encouragement. This is the power of community.
Familias en Acción is honored to be selected as this year’s recipient of the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association’s (OHBA)La Voz Latina Award. Community Health Worker and long-standing member of the Familias team, Zoraya Uder, accepted the award on Familias’ behalf during OHBA’s 20th Anniversary Dinner on July 22, 2022.
The La Voz Latina Award recognizes organizations for their exceptional provision of legal or non-legal direct service to Oregon’s Latinx community and seeks to uplift organizations that enhance opportunities for the Latinx community of Oregon by:
Empowering members of the Latinx community;
Providing free or low-cost services to underprivileged members of the Latinx community;
Creating and expanding opportunities for Latinx youth;
Advocating for causes that positively impact vulnerable members of the Latinx Community.
Thank you, OHBA, for this honorable award. We are both humbled and excited to be this year’s recipient and to continue providing resources to Latino/x/e communities in Oregon.
Pictured (left to right): Zoraya Uder, Jacqueline Alarcón and Octavio Uder at the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association’s 20th Anniversary Dinner.
Paul J. De Muniz Professionalism Award
Familias is also incredibly proud to announce that our board member, Jacqueline Alarcón, was the recipient of this year’s Paul J. De Muniz Professionalism Award at the OHBA Anniversary Dinner. This award honors individuals who are carrying on Paul J. De Muniz’s legacy – he became the first Latino Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court in 2006 and was also the first Latino member of the Oregon State Bar Board of Bar Examiners. He was the first Hispanic person to be elected to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Judge Alarcón was recently appointed to the Multnomah Circuit Court, and has over a decade of legal experience representing clients throughout the Portland metropolitan area. Jacqueline is the current Board President of the Multnomah Bar Association and former Board President of Adelante Mujeres and the Oregon Women Lawyers Association. As part of the Latinx community, she has first-hand knowledge of the importance of health issues affecting Latino/e/x communities.
We could not be prouder of our staff, board, and community for all of the work we are doing to help Latino/x/es thrive. We thank the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association for this recognition and look forward to continuing to empower Latino/x/e communities.
The rapid rise of obesity and diabetes has been especially evident among Oregon Latinx communities. Latin American immigrants who arrived a generation or two ago were raised on traditional diets of beans, vegetables and grains. As their children and grandchildren transitioned to a “westernized” diet high in salt, sugar and fat and lacking in nutrients, rates of chronic disease began to rise.
Numbers of Oregon Latinx have doubled since 2000, now accounting for about 12 percent of the population. They have the highest rates of obesity among Oregon racial and ethnic groups with 40 percent of Latinx children either overweight or obese. Diabetes rates among Oregon Latinx have doubled since 1988, and they represent the highest rates of gestational diabetes among Oregon racial and ethnic groups.
From its inception, the Moore Institute found a receptive audience within the Latinx community for its message about the role of early life nutrition in establishing risk of lifelong chronic disease. Along the way we developed a working relationship with Familias en Acción that has blossomed over the years.
Now, Familias en Acción (Familias) is creating a culturally-specific nutrition curriculum grounded in the science of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) in conjunction with the Moore Institute. DOHaD research has demonstrated the lifelong impact of good nutrition during the first 1,000 days, from conception to about age two, in preventing chronic disease risk. Poor prenatal nutrition increases risk of developing chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease in offspring as they become adults;and yet, Latinas in Oregon receive less prenatal care than non-Hispanic white women.
The plan is to develop a research-based, culturally and linguistically specific curriculum to build Latinx community knowledge and advocacy skills about food justice and family health. The project focuses on nutrition as a foundation for strengthening the health of Latino families and communities.
The Abuela Mama y Yo (AMY) curriculum differs from traditional nutritional programs because it addresses the root causes of health inequities. The curriculum will enhance knowledge of the role of the community environment in the availability of appropriate nutrition and level of social stress experienced prior to and during pregnancy. Participants will build their knowledge about the health impacts of poverty, racial discrimination, social disadvantages, and overall toxic stress on themselves and their children. Self-advocacy skills in food justice will build self-sufficiency for participants.
Once the curriculum is finalized, the second phase of the program will train 50 community leaders to conduct classes in the curriculum with a goal of reaching 350 Latinx individuals during the second year.
The Moore Institute understands that creating a healthier Oregon for all requires more work and commitment than any one group could do on its own. Working together with other similarly-missioned organizations like Familias en Acción, we can all reach our goals faster.
