El Centro receives grant from Kansas Humanities Council

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - The Kansas Humanities Council recently awarded $46,215.00 in Humanities and Heritage grants to eight organizations.

Local contributions to the projects are estimated at $77,987.

Brown County Historical Society, Hiawatha ($2,920)
“Preservation of the Dress Collection”
A project to catalog, photograph, label, and preserve the historical society’s collection of wedding dresses, Halloween Queen dresses, and early 1900s dresses. Eric Oldham, project director.

El Centro, Inc., Kansas City, Kan. ($3,388)
“Building Communities: Mexican-American Softball Leagues”
This research and oral history project documents the ways softball leagues built relationships and forged a shared identity among Mexican-American communities in Kansas, including Wyandotte County. Gene T. Chávez, project director.

Kansas African American Museum, Wichita ($3,466)
“Black and White Remember Together”
An oral history project to collect and share the memories of black and white students who experienced life in Wichita during the turbulent years of the late 1960s. Shenita Horton, project director.

Kauffman Museum, North Newton ($10,000)
“Sorting Out Race”
An exhibition and series of public programs uses thrift store objects as a starting point for conversations about race and racial identity. Annette LeZotte, project director.

Lecompton Historical Society ($3,495)
“Updating Artifact Records for Improved Exhibits and Programming”
A project to enhance exhibitions and public programming through research, documentation, and preservation of artifacts in the historical society’s collection. Lynn Ward, project director.

Miami County Conversation District, Paola ($10,000)
“Against the Grain”
This documentary short film explores the methods used by Kansas farm families to conserve natural resources. Amanda Hashagen, project director.

Wabaunsee County Historical Society, Alma ($9,961)
“Focus on History: The Photography and Films of Otto Kratzer”
An exhibition and public programs feature the photographs and films of Otto Kratzer, a Volland business owner whose work captured life in the Flint Hills community between 1905 and 1965. Greg Hoots, project director.

The Kansas Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization that supports community-based cultural programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities.

For more information, visit www.kansashumanities.org.

El Centro receives Health Care Foundation grant for “Healthy Living” program

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - “Many Voices, One Goal – Healthy Living” is El Centro Inc.’s newest program focused on educating the Latino community about the benefits and necessity of a healthy lifestyle.   After receiving a grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, El Centro is excited to begin their work throughout both Wyandotte and Johnson Counties.

During the last 10 years, public dialogue has been central in creating momentum toward a movement of healthy lifestyles and awareness across the nation.

However, there are crucial segments of the broader population who are not being heard and not making themselves heard as to what would be effective strategies for them, and one is the Latino population.  El Centro’s “Many Voices, One Goal – Healthy Living” program will help reach this population, benefiting our community as a whole.

The “Healthy Living” program will center around five main efforts: outreach, recruitment, training, retention and empowerment.

The program will hold informational meetings, recruit specific members of the community at these assemblies, train these individuals to promote a healthy lifestyle along with El Centro, and then back away and let the community help themselves.

El Centro announces the hiring of two new employees

News Release:

El Centro is pleased to announce the hiring of two new employees – Aude Negrete and Irene Salazar Caudillo.

Aude Negrete, Director of Community Services in Johnson County, is located in El Centro’s Olathe office at 500 E. Santa Fe. Ms. Negrete’s responsibilities include community outreach, assisting clients with health, employment and emergency assistance. 

Ms. Negrete past experience in public affairs and community organizing includes an internship for Delia Garcia, the former representative from Wichita in the Kansas Legislature; served as community organizer for Casa de Maryland, a community organization serving immigrants in Maryland. Most recently Ms. Negrete was Kansas State Director for the Obama Presidential Campaign. Ms. Negrete is a graduate of Shawnee Mission West High School and the University of Kansas, where she earned Bachelor degrees in Arts and Political Science.

 Irene Salazar Caudillo is hired as Chief Program Officer and will oversee programs in Kansas City, Kansas and Johnson County.  Ms. Caudillo has a wealth of experience in health and human services organizations in Greater Kansas City. She began her career as Director of Children and Youth Services at El Centro from 1991-94; Director of Family Strengthening Programs for Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas from 2004 – 2011; and most recently Director of Clinic Operations for Swope Health Services since 2011.

“We are delighted to welcome Aude Negrete and Irene Caudillo to El Centro.  Both women have impressive backgrounds and bring a wealth of experiences to our organization” said Mary Lou Jaramillo, CEO.  El Centro was established in 1976 and provides an array of culturally competent programming, including: early childhood education, health care case management, financial education, domestic violence intervention and health outreach/prevention programs.

El Centro’s newest educational program, La Conexión, is designed to help businesses and organizations better understand and connect with the diverse Latino population. Although El Centro attracts clients of all ethnicities and backgrounds, the agency is humbly proud of our unique expertise and aptitude to provide bilingual services to best meet the needs of Kansas City's growing Hispanic population.