Don’t miss Congreso’s biggest event of the year – the 2020 Gala Latina showcasing Panama City, Panama! Dance the night away while supporting Congreso at this black-tie event. Tickets are now available for purchase!

When: Saturday | March 21^st, 2020 | 6:30 PM

Where: The Bellevue Hotel | 200 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

A special gracias to AmerisourceBergen for serving as our Premier Sponsor and PECO for serving as our Platinum Sponsor, along with Mr. Albert Morales, our Gala Honorary Chair and Chief Transformation Officer at AmerisourceBergen.

Juan De Angulo, VP of Quality Assurance, Shares

Congreso's Story on Non-Profit Performance Webinar

On February 5th, Congreso's VP of Quality Assurance, Juan De Angulo, was featured as a speaker for the Leap Ambassadors Community and Candid's webinar "High Performance Practices Successful Nonprofits Need."

Performance Imperative and Performance Practice, which is the Leap Ambassadors Community's framework, can help advance an organization's mission and improve overall performance.

"In the public service, we are limited in funding and capacity and we are charged to work in the midst of complex systems in order to track, frame and report social services. By studying frameworks and sharing project implementation, we can support each other in finding ways to be innovative and creative in order to have greater impact," said Juan. During the webinar, he encouraged and inspired 600 attendees to push through as he shared insights from Congreso's journey applying the framework which included both challenges and breakthroughs.

"Congreso explained their journey to becoming a high-performance organization with all the good, bad and ugly. I really appreciate their humility in how hard this work is and their commitment which has yielded great dividends for the youth they've been serving," tweeted Mary Winkler, Senior Associate in the Center of Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute in Washington D.C.

Gracias to Leap Ambassadors Community and Candid for giving Juan an opportunity to share our story!

New Human Services Pathway Program Begins at Congreso

At the end of January, Congreso launched a new Human Services Career Pathway program in partnership with Temple University Harrisburg. Throughout this eight-week program, students will work towards acquiring the industry recognized Strength-Based Family Work credential along with job placement assistance upon program completion.

Dorothy Smith, Manager of Employment Services, expressed praise and excitement for the first cohort. “They are doing a lot of critical self-reflection and talking through challenging situations. I can’t wait to see them get started in their internship phase so they can start using their new skills.”

“Since joining this program, I’ve found my purpose as a help giver. I’m learning partnership helps restore power to those who need it most,” reflected Tarren, a student in the program.

Congreso and Temple University Harrisburg are proud to offer this new opportunity for people to enter the Human Services field right here in North Philadelphia!

For more information about our Human Services Pathway program, contact Dorothy Smith at smithd@congreso.net.

Physical & Financial Health Screenings & Education - A New Model

Gracias to the Fox Chase Cancer Center and their mobile van, 26 community members received mammograms at Congreso this month! Uninsured patients were also able to be screened thanks to support from the American Cancer Society.

In addition to the health screening, patients were introduced to Congreso’s new Financial Empowerment Network Program (FEN) which seeks to introduce the basics of finances to our community. The program will offer education around financial literacy, like checking credit scores and banking, as well as financial coaching.

“Because we are trying to incorporate FEN into more aspects of the health center, we thought it was a great opportunity with a group of people,” said Judy Emmons, Director of Primary Care. “Soon we’ll have a housing counselor from Congreso at the Health Center for more intensive financial empowerment one-on-one sessions!”

For information about upcoming community mammogram dates, contact Judy Emmons at fergusonj@congreso.net.

Latina Domestic Violence Program Youth Services

Supports Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

The Latina Domestic Violence Program (LDVP) Youth Services spent the month of February supporting Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM) participating in events and sharing resources!

"It was great to engage students with healthy relationship education. One point that students took away is that it’s important to maintain friendships outside of your romantic relationships, so that you have a support network and a better chance of avoiding coercive control from a partner. This is a good lesson for people of all ages!” said Stacey Padilla, Youth Services & Community Education Coordinator.