I’m Michael Toledo, 51 years old, currently President and CEO of the Centro Hispano Daniel Torres Inc. I’m of Puerto Rican nationality born and raised in Reading PA. Giving back to our community is a part of what we do every day at the Centro Hispano. We do this in various ways.
Our mission is to help and provide hope to every person that comes to us for assistance. With the challenges of the pandemic and its impact on our community, we needed to adapt to meet the needs of our community. Our first priority was to make sure that our families had food to eat. Every day the Centro prepares over three thousand meals at no cost to children in preschool and the Olivet Boys and Girls Club. We also provide meals to our senior citizens who come to the Casa De La Amistad and those senior citizens who receive food through the meals on wheels program.
We also give back through our social service program where members of our community can meet with our social service caseworkers to find solutions and benefits to meet their family’s needs. Last year alone, we received over 15,000 phone calls asking for help from community members. The majority of assistance that was requested of us focused on benefits eligibility, housing, and assistance in receiving covid vaccinations.
We are giving back to our senior citizens through our Casa De La Amistad senior center and satellite sites throughout the city. Casa is one of the largest centers of its kind in Pennsylvania. With the goal of striving to prevent the crippling psychological and physical effects of isolation for seniors, we provide holistic programming. From individual case management, group activities, health and wellness programming, and preparing congregate meals, we are meeting the needs of our senior population.
Lastly, The Centro Hispano is giving back by helping parents with children to understand their role as their children’s most important advocate. We are doing this through a program called Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors. This program honors and supports parents as leaders of their families and their child’s first and most influential teachers. At the Centro, we believe that parents are powerful agents of change in the lives of their children and communities. They lead the way to positive outcomes for their children. For our parents, we strengthen their leadership, knowledge, and support systems which are all key in preparing their young children for school success. Parents support each other in making what they learn a part of daily life, understanding they are in powerful positions as leaders and advocates for their families.
We are blessed to be able to give back to the community in different ways. It fills us with pride to know that every day we are impacting so many lives.
Michael Toledo
President and CEO of the Centro Hispano Daniel Torres Inc.
