Your partners at University of Illinois Extension are working to meet the grass-roots educational needs of Hispanic residents throughout the state. Extension is an outreach branch of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. From urban neighborhoods to rural farms, we are providing practical, research-based programs that help people improve their lives and address critical issues.

This newsletter highlights some of our new Extension programs developed through partnerships with a variety of community-based organizations. We welcome feedback about our efforts and look forward to working with you to further extend our outreach.

Enhancing Technology for Community Development

Technology has become one of the major forces for community development. University of Illinois Extension has developed curricula for children, youth and adults and offers computer programs for basic computer skills, audiovisual presentations, and web page design.

Internet Masters learn the basics of web page design and then engage in community service helping other agencies design their web pages.

In Chicago, a program entitled, “Internet Masters” was taught in Spanish to five employees of local agencies such as Centro San Bonifacio. For 11 weeks, participants learned the basics of web page design and what to consider when creating web pages. As Internet Masters, participants engage in community service for up to 50 hours and help other community agencies design their web pages. Contact person: Gonzalo Escobar (312) 578-9956, e-mail: escobar@uiuc.edu.

A computer camp for children, youth and adults was offered in Chicago Heights. The Camp was held from July 8 thru July 12, 2002. A group of eight (8) children, ten (10) teenagers and eleven (11) adults participated in Spanish “Word Processor” and “PowerPoint.” All participants made presentations using PowerPoint and had the opportunity to address issues such as communication between parents and kids, and how to make their community better. As a result of the computer camp, the Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago Heights, who attended the final celebration, made available two rooms in City Hall for future community education programming. Contact persons: Gonzalo Escobar or German Cutz (708) 720-7540, e-mail: cutz@uiuc.edu.

University of Illinois Extension is taking the leadership in bilingual Extension programming. A new web site “En Español” (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/espanol/) was recently launched. By July 2002, the site had received 126,174 hits. En Español has information about parenting and childcare, helping kids succeed in school, many fun programs for children, gardening and horticulture topics.

Also, it includes a directory of Extension publications in Spanish throughout the United States, as well as a list of organizations and agencies of Illinois serving

Hispanics. Contact persons: German Cutz or Jane Scherer (217) 244-2849, e-mail: jscherer@uiuc.edu.

Continuing Professional Education

University of Illinois Extension, in partnership with other educational institutions as well as community agencies, has hosted conferences and delivered workshops aimed at professionals that work with Hispanics/Latinos. In Chicago, University of Illinois Extension hosted the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development’s conference (NRCRD) entitled, “Enhancing Extension’s Capacity to Work with Spanish-speaking Populations.” Last December, for three days about 90 professionals from land grant universities in the North Central Region including, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin, shared their programming and approaches to effectively work with Hispanic/Latino audiences. As a follow up, the NRCRD created a web site (www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/spanishconf/index.htm) where the general public can access teaching materials and information on various topics regarding Spanish-speaking populations.

On April 4, 2002, at John A. Logan Community College in Carterville, Illinois, the Quinstate Community Development Forum focused on Hispanic/Latino issues. The Forum was sponsored by Extension Services from Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. It also included faculty from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. This year’s forum addressed housing, education, health and everyday issues for Latino/Hispanic people. Participants in the conference included health care professionals from county health departments, teachers, school administrators, local clergy and several service agencies. More than 90 people in all attended the conference and enjoyed a Hispanic/Latino dance as well. At the end of the day, people were able to take away several documents, brochures and information, as well as make important new connections with people who shared the same tasks and issues.

In Vermilion County, University of Illinois Extension partnered with Head Start, local schools, churches, the Danville Mayor’s Office for a two-day workshop, “What Works and What Does Not with Hispanic/Latino Audiences.” More than 40 employees from different organizations including Extension’s staff had hands-on experiences on topics such as language and culture, youth development, housing, agriculture, health care, business and immigration. Teams of participants visited agencies, schools, churches, and farms to learn successful approaches and their limitations in working with Hispanics/Latinos. Contact persons: Ben Mueller (217) 244-2463, e-mail bmueller@uiuc.edu or Michelle Pride (217) 442-8615, e-mail mpride@uiuc.edu.

Studying Hispanic/Latino Culture

Six Extension counties in northeastern Illinois received a grant from the Illinois 4-H Foundation to design and implement a Global Connections program for junior high youth and adult volunteers. The Extension units are currently in the process of recruiting teams of youth and adults to attend a fall workshop. With the increasing Hispanic/Latino population in northeastern Illinois, the focus of the workshop will be on learning more about the culture, history, food, crafts, customs, and music of the various Hispanic/Latino countries and their people. McHenry County has recruited their team for the fall workshop. They are focusing their study on Chile. After the workshop, each team will return home to plan and implement a global education program for others during the 2002-2003 4-H year. Contact person: Sheri Seibold (708) 720-7530, e-mail: sseibold@uiuc.edu.

Celebrating Fiesta del Sol

University of Illinois Extension celebrates Fiesta del Sol — the largest Hispanic/Latino fiesta in the Midwest. Last July, a group of Extension educators, from different counties, attended Fiesta del Sol to learn more about Hispanic/Latino culture. Fiesta del Sol is a four-day activity that promotes Hispanic/Latino culture, food, and music. Every year, Extension Educator Drusilla Banks, trains food vendors in food handling and food safety.

This year more than 1,000 persons visited Extension’s booth, where children were face painted and their parents received information on topics such as gardening, food and nutrition, pesticide safety, new available programming in Spanish and much more. Contact person: Gonzalo Escobar.

Strengthening Hispanic/Latino Families

In cooperation with the Rock Falls Health Department, Whiteside County University of Illinois Extension conducted the Strengthening Families Program to Spanish-speaking families on Monday nights from February 25 through April 8. The Strengthening Families Program is set up to have concurrent sessions with the parents and the youth with different facilitators. Everyone then joins for the family session. There were seven parents and 15 children involved in the program.

In conjunction with the Strengthening Families Program, two separate bilingual parenting sessions were also conducted. “Love and Limits,” one lesson from Strengthening Families, reached more than 30 different Latino/ Hispanic parents in two school locations. Whiteside County Extension plans to conduct another Spanish-speaking Strengthening Families Program and a continuation of monthly bilingual parenting lessons throughout the county. Contact person: Robin Vargas (815) 772-4075, e-mail: robinrv@uiuc.edu.

Identifying the Needs of Latino/Hispanic Parents

It is often difficult to know what programs the community needs or wants. University of Illinois Extension, in cooperation with CUSD # 5 and the Whiteside County Regional Office of Education, held a Latino/Hispanic Parent focus group at Wallace School on May 2, 2002. More than 20 parents came and guests from a Rotary Club in Mexico came to participate. Parents voiced concerns, needs and opinions about their families and youth in the community. The information will aid Extension in planning program offerings for the fall of 2002 for schools and the community. Contact person: Robin Vargas (815) 772-4075, e-mail: robinrv@uiuc.edu.

Keeping Hispanic/Latino Families Safe from Pesticides

A program entitled, “Basic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Spanish” is being offered by University of Illinois Extension. This program teaches basic principles of IPM, weed, insect, and disease identification, scouting, plant maintenance, pruning, and pesticide safety. It is a five-hour program, offered in English with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish. Nursery, horticulture, and farm workers, have attended this program, which is more production-oriented than similar grounds maintenance programs. Contact persons: Pablo Kálnay (217) 782-6515, e-mail: kalnay@uiuc.edu or Bruce Paulsrud (217) 244-9646, e-mail: paulsrud@uiuc.edu.

Extension Programs That Continue Making a Difference in People’s Lives

University of Illinois Extension has been offering Bilingual programming (English and Spanish) including:

Horticulture in Spanish

Extension offers workshops on grounds maintenance, problems with perennial flowers and other topics related to Integrated Pest Management. Contact persons: Jim Schuster (708) 352-0109, e-mail: schuster@uiuc.edu or German Cutz.

Immigration Rights and Responsibilities

A program focused on teaching immigrants their rights and responsibilities in the United States. Contact person: Jim Becker or Ben Mueller (217) 244-2463, e-mail bmueller@uiuc.edu.

Radio Programs in Spanish

Extension produces two radio programs in Spanish. New Horizons (www.nuevoshorizontes.org) that focuses on community development and family and nutrition programs and “Sí Se Puede” (88.7 F.M.), which features interviews with social service providers, community activists and others who serve Hispanic/Latino audiences. Contact Persons: For New Horizons, Ben Mueller. For “Si Se Puede,” Gonzalo Escobar.

Family and Nutrition Programs

Family Nutrition Program (FNP) and Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP) have served residents of Illinois providing demonstrations on food preparation, food and nutrition, and healthy food for children. Contact person: Robin Orr (217) 244-2855, e-mail: raorr@uiuc.edu.