Arsht-Cannon Fund supports Delaware’s Latino families

The Arsht-Cannon Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation has awarded $582,248 in grants to Delaware’s nonprofit organizations that are reaching out to Latino families with accessible and needed educational programs at this time of crisis.

To address the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latino families, FY 2020-21 grants ranged from direct relief to meet basic needs of qualified immigrant families in crisis, to support for development of innovative and sustainable programs by collaborating nonprofit partners. In between, funding has been dedicated to a variety of programs that support learning and, ultimately, integration and empowerment.

“Amid the rising needs of families and the challenges faced by Latino-serving nonprofits, 2020-21 grant funding was prioritized to our nonprofit partners who redesigned their critically needed programs to reach families safely, effectively and with love, excellence and sustainability,” said Dr. Christine Cannon, fund executive director.

Grantees serving Sussex County include ESL program at Lutheran Church of Our Savior, $20,000 (second year of grant), for multilevel classes and online English instruction; Literacy Delaware, $20,000 to strengthen southern Delaware’s ESL tutoring program; Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at Milton Public Library; National Alliance on Mental Illness Delaware, $19,448 to support the Hispanic Services Initiative throughout Delaware; Autism Delaware, $9,000 to provide the family peer support program to families of children with autism; Rosa Health Center, $25,000 to provide comprehensive care including health education to Latino families in central Sussex County; La Esperanza Community Center, $107,550 to expand the La Colectiva-inspired Family Coaching and Navigation Program in southern Delaware; and First State Community Action Agency, $100,000 for the Sussex County Relief Program, which supports payments to cover basic needs such as food, housing and utilities for qualified Latino immigrant families in crisis. 

The Arsht-Cannon Fund was established in 2004 through the gift of the estate of the Hon. Roxana Cannon Arsht and S. Samuel Cannon to the Delaware Community Foundation. The endowed fund benefits Delaware’s Hispanic families by partnering and funding nonprofits that provide educational opportunities, improving the lives of all Delawareans.