POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County nonprofit is helping Hispanic families impacted by the pandemic get back on their feet.
Silvia Cruz has a lot on her plate these days.
“Homeschooling my 11-year-old and then I have my three-year-old and then I have a two-month-old. All boys and it’s just very chaotic,” Cruz said.
When Cruz is done taking care of her children, the teacher becomes the student.
“I do as much as I can sometimes until like one, midnight or one, I'm out here doing as much as I can,” she said.
Cruz is studying for her real estate sales license, after her husband lost his government contract job at the beginning of the pandemic. She wanted a way to contribute financially to the household.
“COVID really messed everything up for us. It’s been really hard,” Cruz said. “It means a lot to me to be able to help my family and try to pull my weight in that respect financially,” she added.
Cruz is able to take the real estate course thanks to a scholarship from the League of United Latin American Citizens. LULAC is a Hispanic civil rights organization, that raised money by selling cookbooks to help support women who lost their job during the pandemic.
“A lot of them found themselves in very challenging situations and we wanted to step up. If we were the council in this state to help women, empower them and give them the resources to get ahead, we had to do that,” said Ana Rivera, President of Council for Women for LULAC.
Rivera said LULAC is always looking for new members.
“This is something to literally help, promote and empower your community, especially your Latino community,” she said.
You don’t need to be Hispanic to become a member of LULAC. If you are interested in joining, click here.
