Brief Review of the National LULAC Youth Convention 2011 in Cincinnati, OH

Almost a month already since the convention and i still feel a little bit of excitement to think about what came about throughout this year of leadership. It was a great time for us Youth. The Pre-Convetion took place at Xavier University where we all got to stay at the university dorms and experience the college life. I can not stress how important this experience is. It reinforces the excitement about living in campus, going to college, and experiencing this kind of life. I saw a lot of excited faces and other who were extremely happy to develop a good friendship on the first day at the convention. It is at the pre-convention that we network amongst youth from all over the country and it is this, I think, one of the most important things to take away from LULAC Youth at any convention: the friendships you develop at this convention are the friendships that will stay throughout your professional careers. 
Some of the activities at the pre-convention included college tours of Xavier University and the University of Kentucky, Tour of the Taft Historical Site, a tour of he streets of Cincinnati, a fun and delicious dinner at a German Restaurant, but of course we couldn’t leave without leaving a mark: community service in the local church, casa, and a nursing house. 
Throughout the pre-convetion we were split up into color coded groups, guided by youth board members who went all out to bring out some team spirit and test who would be better at the LULAC Game Show. This Game Show tested out the knowledge Youth members had about the organization they represent and leadership.

We closed off the pre-convetion and the Convention started.
Buses dropped off the Youth at their hotels and the city was waiting patiently for LULAC’s arrival! With billboards and colorful signs they welcomed us, though some opposition to our presence was also present.

Main Attractions at the Convention:

The Workshops—- This is the biggest and most important thing to take away! Workshops sponsored by McDonalds & Walt*Mart, got you ready for maintaining a professional career in the social world, to being on a budget and how to control overspending, and job opportunities and how to interview correctly for them. You will leave the convention being ready for success! 

People—- Who doesn’t like to meet famous people or people who have make it far in life? From Vicente Fox, Anthony Muñoz, La Banda del Güero, Crash, Hilda Solis, and all the representatives from big industries, this was a great convention no doubt. 

Sponsor’s Exhibition— with tons of goodies to take home, this was a must for every member to visit: from a x-box game to make-overs to marines booth, there was something for everyone. 

The Food—-it always seemed like a lot on your plate, now this tested your etiquette. From a salad to dessert, I knew I was having more than what i normally eat. & WE also enjoyed the baseball hot dogs and peanuts at the baseball stadium

Leadership—Throughout the convention we saw leadership from the LULAC National Youth Board who everyday woke up a little bit early to make sure everything was in it’s place for the Youth to arrive to a good environment and went to bed later just to make sure that what needed to get done, was being done. I can not thank Yoana Ayala, Andres Rodriguez, Devin de Loa, Nikki Suarez, Roxanne Ribot-Gonzalez, Dianne Calix, and Mrs. Bertha Urteaga enough! You are the reason why this convention was so successful! Thanks for your leadership!!! 

Youth Awards Banquet—- Who doesn’t like to get recognized for the hard work they do? This event is held exclusively for the Youth to Shine and let everyone know what and how we are making an impact in our community. In this banquet we feature leadership at it’s best. Thanks for making that impact and be ready for next year to shine in the stage.

New Leadership and the Upcoming Year
Next Year we await every single one of you whom we got to see in Ohio and hope to see each one of you and more members in Orlando, Florida! So let’s fundraise, find sponsors, and work hard to get there… a good convention awaits in Orlando.

enjoy the pictures that i’ll post in several post because of the limit of pictures per post…and please photo reply this post!

x. Sandra Jurado
National Youth President
sandra.lulac@gmail.com 

Council 1118 -selling lanyards! LULAC Puerto Rico State Convention 5/21/11

This post comes from a really good friend of ours, he sums up the visit to Joplin, Missouri board members Sandra Jurado and Yoana Ayala made. READ ON….

by Edward Sánchez on Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 9:06pm

I’m writing this note on the way back to Dallas from Joplin, Missouri, where last week, an EF5 category tornado touched down in this town and destroyed many homes and businesses, and taking the lives of many.

Upon entering Joplin, we were deeply moved. Entire trees were unearthed, as if yanked from the ground by a giant. Signs mangled. Billboards tumbled. Homes completely dissolved, some broken into pieces like a LEGO set after seeing the wrath of an agry child. This is just, however, my point of view — my perception.

We entered a church where we underwent the registration process for volunteering. The entire church served as a gigantic shopping mall, of sorts, with stations ranging from toiletries, canned food, drinks, and (what impressed me the most), toys… lots and lots of toys. How can you explain to a child that an unstoppable force has destroyed what she once called home? You cannot. Instead, you try to replace the only things that keep her apeace in this type of situation - a distraction from reality as psychologically complex, yet as simple, as a toy.

We didn’t stay there long. We were redirected to the warehouse just a few miles up the road. This shipping and receiving center handled all of the donations that came in by the truckload from all over the United States. Our job: unpack the clutter of donations, and sort them into categories for distribution. It’s simply amazing to see the kindness of strangers nationwide. Opening and sorting those packages was almost as self-fulfilling as accepting the donation from a person face-to-face. People sent everything you could think of. Toilet paper, paper towels, towels, blankets, pillows, food, water, batteries, flashlights, books! People sent books! Bibles! A reminder that every step of the way, even through the hardest of times, God is there to hold our hand. Of course, there was a great deal of clothes, but my favorite? That’s right - toys!

We moved back to the church to grab a quick bite, and then, it was off to “ground zero.” The community that was completely torn apart by this spinning monster of Mother Nature’s most basic element: air.

This is where hearts sank. These weren’t houses, but homes. Collections of life’s memories scattered throughout yards, cars with bashed in windows. Clothes, parts of roofs, and other miscellaneous items caught in gigantic tree limbs. I cannot express what I felt, other than sympathy and sadness. Sure, a house can be rebuilt, and a car replaced by an insurance agent, but what about the memories, the laughter, and yes, even the hardships, built inside those four walls?

As we partook on the task of sorting the rubble into three piles (metals, woods, neither of the two), we could see collections of life’s most precious moments. Photo albums, dresses, collections of wine bottles, Easter eggs, and golf balls. You could tell the owner of the home where I was cleaning was a golfer. I found well over 50 golf balls of different colors scattered throughout what was once the foundation of the home. Lord knows how many more were picked up by the deadly twister and are now spread miles around Joplin.

We all observed a moment of silence at 5:41 P.M., the time when the tornado made touchdown. We then heard a beautiful song composed just for the city of Joplin. I don’t know the lyrics off the top of my head, but it explained that [we] have nothing but the future ahead of us, and “by the grace of God, you’ll sing again.”

I am glad to have helped today. I hope that the work we did will give someone hope, and show them that even in times like these, no one is on their own. I don’t know who the homeowner was. I hope once this is all over, he takes his bucket of golf balls and goes out for a few strokes on the back 9 and just relaxes — clearing his (or her) mind of the disaster, and prepares for what’s ahead. The cleanup is underway. Next stop: reconstruction. We cannot replace the memories lost in the disaster, but only extend a helping hand, giving hope and building new memories in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

-Edward Sanchez | LNESC Dallas, TX | Good Friend of the LULAC Youth

-Photo Credit to Soraya Ronco & Sandra Jurado

Hello LULAC familia!
My name is Devin De Loa and I am your Youth national treasurer. Although i am from corpus christi texas, I am currently attending texas tech in lubbock texas! And boy, am i busy. Im currently in the first stages of creating a youth council here in one of the local high schools. I believe every city should have a voice and creating youth councils is the best way to be heard. The national board is about to start selling lanyards so be on the lookout for those. Being treasurer, it is important to keep our funds up and running so we, the youth board, can continue to lead all youth to a bright future. I continue to generate new ideas for raising money and hopefully some of those ideas will be seen at convention. Thank you all for the support you have given me and the entire board. Adios! :)

-DEVIN DE LOA

Collin County Youth Council #298 from Plano, Texas.
New Members Recruitment Video. 
Great Idea!