Winters Hispanic Advisory Committee and Winters Community Corazon
Before Winters Community Corazon and the Winters Hispanic Advisory Committee existed there were residents working closely with St. Anthony Parish doing outreach in the community. The City of Winters held a listening event in partnership with this group to hear what our community needed. Residents said they needed after school programs, childcare, and summer enrichment programs for kids. They also asked that bilingual speakers at City Hall to assist Spanish speaking residents, and they wanted to continue the Citizenship Forums that were recently started. The Winters Hispanic Advisory Committee was formed to inform the City about residents’ concerns and needs and to foster better communication in the community.
The children at the listening event asked if something could be planned to celebrate Latino culture. The first event was La Cosecha, a harvest celebration. The annual event became La Festival de la Comunidad, the “carnitas festival.” Our Festival focuses on culture, community, and children, and it’s free. Winters Community Corazon as a non-profit was formed to assist in Festival planning and to provide service to the community
The entertainment and activities at the Festival are provided at no charge to our guests. Generous donors in our community provide funds for the bounce houses, slides, climbing walls, other activities, and live entertainment. Corazon is grateful and proud that we enjoy the community’s support.
We might be best known for our Festival de la Comunidad, but we host many events to serve our community. We also partner with other groups that share our mission and values. We provide Citizenship workshops and free classes for residents who have applied for citizenship. We support the annual celebration of new citizens at the Winters Community Library. We host a Dia de la Muerte observance, etc.
Winters Community Corazon is guided by the needs of our community, especially the underserved and immigrant communities’ essential needs for housing, citizenship, and overcoming language barriers and other barriers to success.
Our Story Abbreviated
Since 2005, the city of Winters has had a Hispanic Advisory Committee that has worked to provide bilingual counter support at City Hall, bilingual recreation leaders, an increase in affordable housing and first time home buyer assistance, legal support for those who wish to become citizens, scholarships to families who need childcare services, STEM internships for high school students, and to organize and host Winters Annual Festival de la Comunidad. In 2021, members of the Hispanic Advisory Committee created Winters Community Corazón, a non-profit, to handle the Committee’s charitable work and to facilitate tax-free donations. We are a small organization with limited funds and welcome opportunities to celebrate Latino culture and help make our community a more welcoming place.