Community leaders, elected officials, funders and area organizations came together last week to celebrate partnerships and collaborations at a Hispanic Heritage Community Leadership Breakfast.
The event, sponsored by the Wilson chapter of Amexcan and Seeds of Hope Wilson, was held Tuesday at Wilson Community College’s Frank L. Eagles Community Business Center.
Juvencio Rocha-Peralta, executive director of the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina Inc., popularly known as Amexcan, said the event’s purpose was to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and highlight the collaborative work that Amexcan, Seeds of Hope Wilson and other organizations are doing in the region.
Rocha-Peralta said the Amexcan association has been in the community for 22 years.
“In the beginning of the organization, we established four chapters, Durham County, Brunswick County, Duplin County and Wilson County,” Rocha-Peralta said. “One of the longest chapters that we have is the Amexcan Wilson.”
Rocha-Peralta said the most active Amexcan chapter is in Wilson.
Vicenta Carino Reyes founded the Wilson Amexcan chapter.
“We are celebrating 22 years of services in the Latino community of Wilson County,” Rocha-Peralta said. “The most active chapter that we have now is Wilson.”
Wilson Mayor Carlton Stevens read a proclamation celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“I think the organization is very important to Wilson because it brings awareness of exactly what our Latino community brings to our community, the value that they bring,” Stevens said. “It helps the other young Latinos who may not understand their own culture or heritage. It brings awareness and understanding as to just how significant and important they are.”
The proclamation says the Hispanic population makes up 12.7% of Wilson County residents.
“The city of Wilson openly welcomes and supports its distinct cultural diversity,” the proclamation states. “We are further inspired by the economic, social and cultural contributions of the Hispanic community within the city of Wilson and Wilson County.”
Stevens said he learned a lot.
“I did not realize that our organization in our city was the largest,” Stevens said of the Wilson Amexcan chapter. “I think they are doing a great job, and I do want to be a little more active with them because of what I learned at the breakfast.”
“We are happy to have the mayor at the breakfast to read the proclamation,” Rocha-Peralta said. “The proclamation has been requested through Amexcan for the past 15 years.”
Rocha-Peralta said he was also happy to see Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard at the event.
“We have been working closer with him on everything going on with safety and so forth. They attended one of our town meetings that we hosted in partnership with Seeds of Hope,” Rocha-Peralta said. “I think it is important for elected officials to be engaged with what the new organizations are doing with the community and to see what impact they have.”
“The breakfast was to bring together local organizations, foundations, elected officials and institutions from the educational sector to show then, to invite them to embrace this community of Wilson County and the opportunities that we have as we are working together,” Rocha-Peralta added. “For the past five years, Amexcan has been very strong partnering with Seeds of Hope Wilson, which is an organization that I am very grateful to partner with.”
Reyes was instrumental in volunteering for Seeds of Hope Wilson during the organization’s 11-year history.
Seeds of Hope has programs in English as a second language, after-school programs and a 4-H program in addition to its community garden and a newly expanded food pantry.
“We also do the Dia de Muertos Festival, which we have been partnering with Seeds of Hope since the beginning of the festival,” Rocha-Peralta said. “At Amexcan, we are very instrumental to support that initiative.”
Representatives from the office of N.C. Gov. Josh Stein and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services also attended.
Rocha-Peralta said he appreciated Wilson Community College for hosting the event.
“They are new partners and a collaboration that we are working with them to continue to open the door for higher education for the Latino community in Wilson County,” Rocha-Peralta said.
