Westchester Legislators Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

White Plains, NY – The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month at its regular meeting this week and honored two organizations, Neighbors Link of Mount Kisco and First Steps / Primeros Pasos of Ossining, both of which aim to empower the Hispanic community through education.

The program for the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the BOL included a Presentation of Flags by the Boys and Girls Scout Troops of El Centro Hispano of White Plains.  “The story of Hispanics in America is the story of this great nation in itself,” said BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) in his remarks at the special celebration. “Hispanics bring together the rich traditions of different communities with centuries-old roots in America and the energy and drive of recent immigrants. Many have taken great risks to begin a new life in the hopes of achieving a better future for themselves and their families.”

BOL Majority Leader Pete Harckham (D-Katonah) presented a proclamation to Carola Otero Bracco, Executive Director of Neighbors Link.  Serving Mount Kisco and the surrounding communities, Neighbors Link is a multifaceted community center with a mission to strengthen the local community by enhancing health education for recent immigrants.   With hundreds of community volunteers and a strategy to educate, empower, and employ new immigrants, Neighbors Link has become a model for addressing the realities of immigration in peaceful and positive ways.

Accepting the BOL’s proclamation from Legislator Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) on behalf of First Steps / Primeros Pasos was Dr. Angela White, Assistant Superintendent of Ossining Schools and Program Coordinator Synara Okyne-Arynee. First Steps, which operates at the Park Early Childhood Center in Ossining, is a partnership between the John and Constance Curran Charitable Foundation, Rebecca and Arthur Samberg, David Swope, and the Ossining School District. First Steps is program for Ossining children starting from birth to age four to promote literacy through comprehensive services aimed at the entire family in order to lay a good foundation for academic achievement.

Chairman Jenkins noted, “Our collective and wonderfully diverse Hispanic populations have demonstrated tremendous perseverance to realize their many accomplishments and achievements. Through their hard work and dedication, Hispanic Americans continue to improve and enrich their own lives and communities, and make all of our communities better places to live for people of diverse backgrounds.”