“Hispanic Heritage Month means celebrating my culture and sharing that celebration with the entire world! Being Latina in Chicago means incorporating my cultural values and benefits in my day-to-day life. It is important for me to embrace my culture and credit it in my successes because they are the successes of my parents and ancestors too.” – Nancy Benitez, School Age Teacher
The Christopher House family comes together annually to recognize, honor, and celebrate Hispanic, Latino/a, and Spanish-speaking cultures during Hispanic Heritage month, and this year was no exception. Libby Shortenhaus, CEO of Christopher House, kicked off the joyous month with a personal message to our organization.
“Celebrated each September 15th through October 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to reflect on the contributions, legacies, and impact of Hispanic leaders, events, and culture on our nation. I want to start with a special thanks to all our Latino educators, staff, advocates, and families past and present who have made Christopher House the community it is today,” Libby said.
Christopher House strives to respect and honor the diverse cultures of our staff, scholars, families, and community members and prioritize Diversity, Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion (DBEI) in all aspects of our daily work. The Christopher House RIDE (Race, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity) Committee works to ensure the families and children we serve thrive by embracing their racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, ability, socio-economic, and religious diversity by establishing and improving DBEI initiatives within the organization.
“Hispanics make up a significant part of the US population. Therefore, it is important that our achievements and contributions are recognized in American society. Hispanic Heritage Month gives us the opportunity to highlight and share our culture with others and empowers us to feel included and represented,” Jesus Ruiz, School Age Manager and RIDE committee member, said.
Throughout Hispanic Heritage month, we reminded ourselves to be active in asking questions and educating ourselves about Hispanic cultures, holidays, and traditions. Together, we eagerly pursued this goal by amplifying the voices and experiences of the Christopher House community through celebratory events and educational classroom exercises. Our staff and scholars delighted in the joys and rich history of Hispanic culture, enjoying classroom concerts, live music, ethnic food, and books and text written by Hispanic, Latinx and Latino/a authors.
“It was beautiful to see people come together, dance, laugh and just be together,” Juan Villalobos, Director of Family and Community Engagement, said when reflecting on the eventful month. “Since the pandemic we haven’t had opportunities for families to come together in community… opportunities to celebrate ourselves and all that we have experienced over the last few years. Music brings us together; our cultures connect us in many ways. This is just the beginning of more communal opportunities to celebrate each other.”
In addition to these lively celebrations, Christopher House hosted an interactive cultural round table with special guest speakers, including Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado, and Judge Miriam Valkenburg from October 4th-6th. These insightful and collaborative conversations highlighted the importance of recognizing Hispanic histories, practicing traditions passed from generation to generation, and getting involved with local politics in your area.
When discussing the importance of her heritage and her role in the community, Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas shared, “The stories that you all carry matter. They are composed of real human beings; they are not just a data point… These stories matter, and that is why it’s important that you share them with decision makers and policy makers so that you can continue to get the resources you need to do this life saving and life changing work.”
Christopher House intentionally and thoughtfully utilizes a holistic education model and an inclusive curriculum that reflects the experiences and histories of diverse cultures within our community. State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado urges all educators to be mindful of the student and their lived experiences when developing curriculums, stating that a universally adopted well-rounded education plan can build up both the local and global community.
“Thirty to forty years ago, it was never the norm to question the curriculum that you were being taught in school… This is something I think about when we go down to Springfield or when we make legislation or when we talk about educational policy. We must ask, ‘Why are we doing this, who are we speaking to? Are we really giving children the kind of education they need to be lifelong learners?’”
Hispanic Heritage Month may have come to an end, but our commitment to honoring the heritage and cultures of our children, families, and staff will only continue to grow as we do. To learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month or how you can get involved in your community, see the resources below.
Click to learn more about:
- The history of Hispanic Heritage Month
- Current policy changes affecting the Hispanic Community
- Hispanic Heritage Month related news and other local events in your community
To hear more from the Hispanic, Latinx, and Latino/a Christopher House community, check out our social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
