HispanicBusiness

The National Council of La Raza recently accepted the Chavez/Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy into its affiliate network of organizations that work with Latinos throughout the nation.

"This allows us to be in their network, to understand the current issues on the Hispanic agenda nationally and to gain access to funds," said Joe Aldaz, director of the Chavez/Huerta network.

The Chavez/Huerta Network includes the kindergarten through eighthgrade Cesar Chavez Academy and Dolores Huerta Preparatory High.

NCLR's affiliates include more than 270 community organizations that provide programs and services to Hispanics.

Aldaz said CCA and DHPH previously had been affiliated with the NCLR but this is the first time the network has been accepted as an affiliate.

To be a member of NCLR, the organization must be community-based and serve Hispanic people.

"Our mission doesn't specifically state that we serve Hispanics but we predominately serve Hispanics and our goals and objectives are compatible with NCLR," said Aldaz.

CCA and DHPH have benefitted from their relationships with NCLR in the past.

DHPH was a part of La Raza's Early College High School and CCA received grant money for different projects and programs.

Aldaz said he expects those benefits to increase under this new designation.

"This is going to allow us to access a lot of potential resources on a national level," he said.

"We're wanting to be a partner with a lot of organizations and this allows us to provide a focus on the impact Latinos have in our community through the NCLR."