Organizations merge to support Hispanic community

Two longtime organizations supporting the Hispanic population in the Lehigh Valley are merging to expand the resources they offer. 

The Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley and the Latino Leadership Alliance of the Lehigh Valley announced they will merge in March, and the integration of the two organizations became official earlier this month.

The Latino Leadership Alliance, an all-volunteer nonprofit, will now operate under the Hispanic Center. Leaders of both organizations said the merger will strengthen their shared mission of improving quality of life and promoting intercultural understanding throughout the Lehigh Valley.  

The Hispanic Center was founded in 1968 as the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley, according to the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley’s website. The center provides services to help low-income individuals, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic, overcome challenges associated with poverty. 

Janine Santoro, the president of the Latino Leadership Alliance and Bethlehem’s director of equity and inclusion, said the alliance was founded in 2003 to provide bilingual resources and scholarships for students. 

She said, originally, the alliance was a merger between the Latin Alliance — which was formed in 1995 and focused on educational, cultural, civic and economic development — and the Hispanic Business Council — which was founded in 1987 and focused on promoting Latino-owned businesses. She said what these two organizations had in common was a focus on bilingual resources and providing scholarships. 

Santoro said the main motivation behind merging the alliance with the Hispanic Center was sustaining the efforts of the Latino Leadership Alliance since it’s an entirely volunteer-led organization. 

She also said the decision to merge the two organizations was made in 2023, and the partnership has been in the works for more than a year. 

Guillermo Lopez, the vice president of the Hispanic Center and a founding member of the alliance, said the alliance’s volunteers often spread themselves thin. By joining forces, he said both organizations will be able to accomplish more.

He said the Hispanic Center and the alliance share a similar mission, which also contributed to the decision to combine the organizations.  

“I think it’s a natural thing that when leaders come to recognize that they’re in line with each other, that their visions are the same, it makes sense to bring people together,” Lopez said. “Because in unity, there’s strength.”

Raymond Santiago, the executive director of the Hispanic Center, said while the alliance was completely volunteer-led, the center has a paid staff, enabling it to dedicate more time and resources to community work.

He also said while the center’s name suggests it’s for the Hispanic community, the work it does supports everyone. 

“It’s right in our mission that we support anyone who needs help here, located in Northampton County,” Santiago said. “That includes people who lived here, who recently moved here, students as well.”

Santoro said the alliance will bring its scholarship programs and advocacy efforts to the Hispanic Center, expanding the range of services the center can provide. 

She also said although there were some bittersweet feelings from alliance members and founders, everyone agreed the merger is ultimately about “coalition building.” 

“This is a mutually beneficial partnership,” Santoro said.

More specifically, she said having administrative support as well as a brick and mortar location will help the center’s services grow faster than they would if it was completely volunteer-led like the alliance previously was.

 Under the Hispanic Center’s ownership, she said the alliance will transition from a hierarchical board to a leadership committee. The center will also have an education committee that will operate under the center’s board. She said this board includes previous members of the alliance. 

Santiago said the center is in the process of creating a committee that will focus on reviewing applications for the alliance’s scholarship programs, with applications expected to open on the center’s website in the coming weeks.  

“We hope that the people that founded the Latino Leadership Alliance feel honored that their work and their contributions and their philanthropy will continue,” Santoro said. 

Santiago shared his excitement for the merger and said it will allow the center to further expand its focus on scholarships and higher education for young Latino people. 

According to United States Census Bureau data, last updated July 1, 2024, an estimated 28.6% of Lehigh County’s population identifies as Hispanic. 

Santiago said in the Lehigh Valley the Hispanic population is constantly growing, so it’s important to be able to offer culturally competent services.  

“It’s crucial for us to be able to offer culturally appropriate services, offer translation services, but also help people build skills,” he said. 

In light of recent federal funding cuts, Santiago said the center is awaiting the status of a pending grant, which is now uncertain.

He said while the center does receive federal funding, the organization will not know the full scale of the impact of funding cuts until the next grant cycle. 

Lopez said collaboration between the center and the alliance is important, as both are committed to and rooted in supporting individual identity and value in the community. 

“In this country, if you don’t figure out how to collaborate and how to show how much you value who you are, you will disappear,” he said.