¿Qué significa para usted estar sirviendo a la comunidad?
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we asked members of our staff to share what it means for them to serve the community. Responses were captured in both Spanish and English.
Lupe Ibarra,
Developmental Service Manager
(Pictured on left.) Como mujer hispana, servir a mi comunidad significa poder compartir mi conocimiento y sabiduría. El conocimiento que he adquirido a lo largo de los años, especialmente con nuestra comunidad de necesidades especiales, haciéndolos conscientes de sus derechos y los derechos de sus hijos. Cuando veo la colaboración entre nuestros socios comunitarios sobre cómo apoyar a nuestra comunidad hispana, se me llena el alma de una gran sonrisa.
Ofelia Alfaro,
Quality Assurance Manager
(Pictured on the right.) Although my work at Izzi does not have direct contact with the community, creating systems and processes for making these seem effortless for Izzi’s staff is something that I enjoy doing. In return, these systems/processes have an effect on how agency data is collected from the families that we serve. In recent years, the agency has grown to embrace new technology and electronic systems that we thought before the pandemic, were impossible or in the future for us to explore. Supervisors and managers are now looking at data to drive services, which makes us more inclined to plan out solutions, processes or systems instead of reacting to try to solve a problem. Izzi is known for quickly adjusting to community changes that affect the families and children in the county and by sharing our data with our community will allow us to continuously improve quality.
Nancy Pantoja-Heinicke, Family Childcare Manager
There’s nothing better than a feeling that you’ve helped someone, whether it be at work or at home. When someone is in need, WE as a community/individual should reach out and do what we can to make a difference. To me it’s the only way we are going change this world and build a better community one day at a time. It’s about “We Together” that we can make a difference.
Elsa Acevedo,
Health Services Coordinator
Para mi servir a la comunidad es dar sin recibir nada a cambio. Saber que estás ayudando a las familias y niños ya eso es una recompensa. Cómo Latina uno entiende a su comunidad ya que uno pasó por las mismas necesidades y ahora es el tiempo que yo ayudó a otros dentro de mi comunidad.
Edith Hernandez, Site Supervisor
Cómo inmigrante para mi es muy importante ayudar a mi comunidad, mantenerlos informados sobre los recursos de los cuales se pueden beneficiar. Yo crecí en esta comunidad y me siento orgullosa de mantener mi cultura.
