Allen & Allen is thrilled that the community is coming together to celebrate our 2021 Hometown Heroes. In addition to coverage on NBC Charlottesville and Henrico Citizen, attorney Ashley Davis visited Radio Poder to discuss the chosen Heroes for 2021.
Radio Poder is a Spanish-language station and it’s worth noting that a few of our Hometown Heroes are working to help our Latinx community thrive in Virginia, where they make up about 9% of the population.
Elvira De La Cruz is the chief executive officer for the Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, and she addresses issues that are prevalent in the Hispanic community: domestic and sexual violence. Due to her efforts, Richmond now has an Interpreters Bank, so that the Latinx community will never have to hear, “Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish,” when seeking services.
Teresa Lopez partners with the YMCA to bring services to the Latinx community. These services include translation, and a pathway for children to connect to summer activities via the YMCA, so that they won’t be left home alone while their parents work. She helped bring a mobile clinic to communities in need. She also created a YouTube channel to teach ESL, help the Latinx community to obtain their GEDs, and more.
Christina Ramirez is the branch manager for Henrico County Library and pushes for materials and books to be donated to underserved communities in her area, including the Latinx population. Her work on the board of trustees for the Science Museum of Virginia helps make science more accessible to black and brown children, so they can see themselves grow to achieve a career in science.
