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crcerie.org

2016 ANNUAL REPORT

Proudly Serving

the Needs of the

Hispanic and Refugee

Communities

since 1975!

INSIDE THIS REPORT:

Executive Messages Pages 2-3

Programs & Services Pages 4-9

Funding & Financials Page 10-11

MOSAICO Page 12-13

Fundraising Events Page 14

Vision & Mission Page 15-16

Board of Directors & Administration Page 17

How You Can Help Page 18

18

How You Can Help! M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Donations in care of the Multicultural Community

Resource Center are always welcome and most

appreciated.

Please visit our website www.mcrcerie.org or call

814.422.0212 for more information.

Donations may also be mailed to:

Multicultural Community Resource Center

Attn: Executive Director

554 East 10th Street

Erie, PA 16503

Board of Directors & Administration

M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

17

Executive Committee

Michael Burns

President

Richard Perhacs Vice-President

Donald Nicholson

Secretary

Brenda Abreu-Baker Treasurer

Board Members

Rebecca Briody Alicia DiBacco

Elizabeth Edwards Aimee Hagerty Meera Kumar

James Kurre, PhD Abdul Osman Pamela Scott

Robert Zaruta, Esq

Administration

Joanna R. Cherpak, Executive Director

Paul J. Jericho,

Associate Director—Programs

Srđan Ninković

Associate Director—Operations

Anna Tischenko

Director of Refugee Services

Deborah K. Pazmiño

Director of Language

& Immigration Services

2

A Message From Joanna Cherpak, Our Executive Director

I began my message to you all last year by discussing how ever rel-evant our work here at MCRC is to our clients and the Erie commu-nity. Throughout this past year, it has become even clearer that our voices and our actions as an agency are crucial. 2016 hosted an unusual election cycle that highlighted hot topics such as healthcare reform, undocumented immigrants and the vetting pro-cess for refugees. Any decisions made in all three of these topics directly affect our major client populations and have an influence on the services that our agency is able to provide to them. Despite the political climate, our healthcare navigator, immigration and refugee programs continued to be strong and provide these much needed services to members of the community. We truly are sad-dened by the most recent executive orders regarding immigra-tion. We agree that the safety of our nation is paramount, but we also know from first-hand experience that our refugees are coming to this community to find safety and the opportunity to live a peaceful and successful life. We as an agency are as committed as ever to continue serving our clients with whatever resources we have and to educate the community about facts surrounding immi-gration. I invite you to look through the following pages high-lighting our programs and the success we are seeing. These num-bers represent the countless hours of hard work put in by our board, administration, staff and volunteers to help our clients make a home here in Erie with a better life for their families.

3

A Message From Michael Burns, Our Board President

After serving for many years as a member of the MCRC Board, it was a natural progression to move into the role as President. Our mission as a board and as an agency is just as important today as it has been in the past. This is especially true as we are “actively promoting and advocating the development, empowerment, and advancement of all people while preserving their cultural identi-ty; and educating the community to value diversity.” In a time where we are seeing such discord among members of our socie-ty, it is even more important for us to continue to persevere and show our community how beneficial diversity is in our daily lives. I am proud of the evolution I have seen thus far in pro-gramming and services at MCRC. It is an honor to lead the board of an agency that does such great work and is a huge asset to the community just by virtue of what they do. As things evolve in this political climate the goal is to stay strong like we have over 40 years. This nation was built on immigrants and refugees. The clients that MCRC serves are similar if not the same to those who came before us. So essentially we have come full circle and along with it we gained the beauty of diversity amongst us.

16

Vision & Mission M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Agency History: On April 29, 1975, the Hispanic American Council was incorporated as a nonprofit organization. The Council was first located at the Spanish Apostolate, an Erie Diocesan Mission Office at 611 West 17th Street. The Council started with no administrative funds and operated with volunteers and two paid staff. In September of 2009, the organization’s name was changed to the Multicultural Commu-nity Resource Center to more accurately reflect the diverse and ev-er-increasing population served. Today the Multicultural Resource Center employs more than 50 individuals and is located in the old Penn Schoolhouse at 554 East 10th Street in Erie. Since the building was erected in 1880, it is gradually being refurbished to its original architectural prominence as a center of learning in Erie. The Multicultural Community Resource Center provides a variety of educational and employment programs to the Immigrant and Refu-gee populations in Erie in a customer focused manner. The service needs of the clients are of prime importance. All services promote client self-sufficiency and improved economic, physical, and/or so-cial wellbeing.

Vision & Mission M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

15

Vision: Hispanic and other ethnic minorities will experience ac-ceptance, respect, independence, and self-sufficiency in our community. Mission: To facilitate the educational, social, political, and eco-nomic progress of the communities we serve. We will work to break down cultural barriers due to language, appearance, or ethnic traditions. We will actively pro-mote and advocate the development, empowerment, and advancement of all people while preserving their cultural identity. We will work to educate the communi-ty to value diversity.

PROUDLY SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE HISPANIC AND REFUGEE

COMMUNITIES SINCE 1975

4

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Education We had 150 students, of those:

64 gained in their language level 21 entered employment 7 gained their High School Equivalency Diploma 4 entered Post-Secondary Education and Training

Language Services Interpretation in legal settings, medical facilities and social

service agencies 5,907 Interpretations were invoiced 120 written translations of documents Interpretations were completed in the following languages:

Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Bosnian, Somali, French, Tigrinya, Nepali, Swahili, Burmese, Karen and Ukrainian

Truancy Prevention and C.A.R.E. Total of referrals to Truancy - 18 Total of Caseload for Truancy - 57 Total of referrals for CARE - 8 Total of CARE Caseload - 20 Total of participants in Student Workshops - 45

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

5

Refugee Social Services Provided case management to 315 individuals less than 5 years

in America 197 refugees were placed into full and part-time employment 253 clients have been enrolled in employment services The following classes have been offered to clients: ESL Class

(Beginning, Low and High Levels), Employment, Math, Well-ness, Life Skills, Pre-Permit & Driving and Rosetta Stone

222 students have been served in the RSS Program 18 students successfully completed driving simulator classes 43 clients received their Learner’s Permit Post-Secondary Navigator served 25 clients with 10 students

graduating from the program Rosetta Stone Program has served 40 students

Erie Targeted Assistance Program (TAP) Provided case management to 160 Individuals Enrolled 98 individuals for employment services and 32 job

placements Placed 3 deaf individuals into employment Provided American Sign Language classes to 25 deaf refugees. Assisted with the funding of the Wellness program. Gas Card assistance program for newly placed individuals

14

Fundraising & Events M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Golf

Tournament

The 4th Annual Hitting The Cul-

tural Links Golf Tournament

09.15.16 raised $30,971.

Highmark Walk

Highmark Walk for A Healthy

Community 06.04.16

raised $2,221

Trivia

Competition

The 2nd Annual Who Wants to be a

U.S. Citizen Trivia Competition

05.06.15 raised $5,100

M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

13

Contact Us

814 464-0970

www.mosaicoerie.com

In 2016, MOSAICO had averaged 40 employees placed during any given work week and had 151 unduplicated placements.

In 2016, MOSAICO employed individuals in the following indus-tries:

Various companies in the plastics manufacturing industry (injection molding)

Food manufacturing

Clerical (document scanning)

Cleaning and laundry companies

Non-profit agencies

Disaster restoration

Flooring

This list is not necessarily all-inclusive

6

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Child Care DHS certified child care center for children 6 weeks through

12 years Before and After School Care and transportation provided for

children K-6 Attained STAR 3 out of 4 ranking for state quality initiative

program Current enrollment is 70 children comprised of full-time and

part-time schedules Total number of languages is eight & total number of staff is

15 with seven enrolled in Child Development Associate Cre-dential training program

Nutritious meals and snacks prepared on-site

Latino Drug and Alcohol Program Support groups, referrals, case management & N.A. meetings in

Spanish Fee for service Served 70 unduplicated individuals

Latino Services: Aging Program

Case management and referrals for Latino seniors

48 unduplicated clients served

Immigration & Naturalization Immigration counseling and completion of necessary immigra-

tion forms for 892 clients 409 Applications for Naturalization and Citizenship Certificates 242 Applications to register Permanent Residence/Adjust Status 43 Petitions for Alien Relatives Have one accredited Representative and two other part-time

individuals who assist with immigration and are working toward accreditation

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

7

Wellness Program Total number of participants = 1,075

Health Education & Activity Sessions: 598 Screenings: 194 Flu Shot Clinics (1 out of 9 uninsured): 283 {vaccines from Sept, Oct, & Nov 2015}

Employment Services Job counseling, resume development, job search, job placement

and referral Interpretation and translation services available for clients and

employers in Arabic, Somali, Nepali, Russian, French, Swahili and Karen

Employment preparation classes and specific job training pro-grams

Strong partner relationships with many local employers and temp placement agencies

12

M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

MOSAICO Employment Services, Inc. is a totally-owned, for-profit subsidiary of the Multicultural Community Resource Center. MO-SAICO is incorporated as an employment agency focusing on providing temporary-to-permanent job placement services to lim-ited English proficient clients who speak English as their second language. MOSAICO is designed to foster long-term relationships with employers by supplying qualified, motivated employees while providing language and cultural diversity supportive ser-vices to our Associates. MOSAICO’s services are targeted to promote client self-sufficiency and to improve economic position and social well-being. We provide job placement, on-the-job language assis-tance, workplace support, and employment counseling. Our goal is to meet the needs of both employers and employees while ad-vancing the mission of MCRC: to help the Hispanic and other eth-nic minorities we serve to experience acceptance, respect, inde-pendence, and self-sufficiency in our community.

Funding & Financials M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

11

The Multicultural Community Resource Center is funded by a number of sources that include: CCIS of Erie County Consumer Health Coalition ECGRA Erie Bank Erie Community Foundation Erie County Department of Health Erie County Office of Drug & Alcohol Abuse Erie Insurance Giving Network Fee for service GECAC Aging Program GECAC TANF Youth Program Hispanic Federation John E. Horan Garden Apartments (Housing Authority of the City of

Erie) Mosaico Employment Services Nathan & Mary Ann Ritchie Northwest Savings Bank Office of Children & Youth PA DPW – Refugee Social Services PA Department of Education Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency Program (Housing Authority of

the City of Erie) Robert & Kathleen Frenzel Fund of the ECF School District of the City of Erie Targeted Assisted Program UPMC Health Plan United Way of Allegheny County United Way of Erie County

8

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Student Liaison Behavioral Support provided for 101 students (including class

cuts, insubordinate, disrespectful, fighting, electronic device used in the class, drug and alcohol, dress code).

Tutoring made available for 47 students at MCRC College preparation for 108 students (included talks about

criteria for graduation and requirements like the Keystone test. Additional assistance in applying for FAFSA and grant money)

29 students from Truancy referrals 13 student from SAP (Student Aid Program) referral 104 parents contacted for academic and behavioral issues of

their children Workshop on health and hygiene given to 187 students in ESL

class 5 Parenting referrals (expecting students)

Elderly Refugee Program 60 participants aged 55 & over from Bhutan, Syria and Congo Classes in ESL, Life Skills, Civics, Citizenship and Community

Integration 5 participants gained US Citizenship

Programs & Services M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

9

Diversity Training & Consulting The Diversity Training and Consulting program conducted work-shops for the following: Erie School District Aides—45 ESD Institute of Professional Learning—24 + 19 + 60 Staff of the Erie School District:

Diehl ES—34 Wayne ES—44 Edison ES—33

Students of the Erie School District: Diehl ES—56 Edison ES—78 Wayne ES—54

Erie County Office of Children and Youth Services—13 + 8 + 15 Marquette Savings Bank—17 + 25 Mental Health Association—34 Sarah Reed Center—5 Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church—15 Penn State, Behrend Residence Life—70 Erie Insurance—41 Domestic Relations Association of PA—55 Widget Financial—23 GECAC Head Start—136 Therefore training was provided to a total of about 716 adults and 188 children

John E. Horan Garden Apartments Learning Center 191 clients enrolled at JEHGA Learning Center 44 clients placed through the Employment Program Currently have 16 clients enrolled in GED and ESL Classes

10

Funding & Financials M U L T I C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E C E N T E R

Note: Figures above are preliminary and have not been audited at the

time of this publication.

Total Income

Total Expenses

61%

35%

3% 1%

$2,592,952

Grants

Fee for Services

Contributions

Other

64%

20%

7%5% 4%

$2,231,375

Salaries

Operating Expenses

Taxes

Miscellaneous

Benefits