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Fact Sheet |
Leadership |
Investment Summary
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When Lori Kaplan went to volunteer at the Latin American Youth Center
in 1979, she found a “beehive of activity" where kids
and young adults were working side by side, helping one and another
learn, grow and find their way in a new culture. Most of the young
people were newly arrived immigrants from Spanish-speaking Caribbean
counties. Their young lives had been marked deeply by the stress
of dislocation, poverty, language barriers and feeling unwelcome.
At LAYC, they found a place to be themselves, to sing, to dance,
to learn, and to tell stories that celebrated who they were.
LAYC has grown considerably over the years and serves a broad population
of young people from Latin America and other regions, but for Lori,
who has been its director since 1984, the essence of the center
is the same. “I am touched every day by something that reminds
me that we are making a difference in people’s lives. Some
days it’s a beautiful piece of art that reveals a young person’s
hopes and dreams, or something they write about overcoming their
fear and hurt.
“I was just 11 years old when I first stepped in the LAYC,”
writes 18-year-old Jesus Amaya in an LAYC newsletter. “Coming
to the LAYC was a chance to escape the gangs and drugs and violence
that were going on around me. The LAYC has been my home away from
home. It had resources I couldn't get other places.” Through
his participation in several programs and activities at LAYC, Jesus
and many of his friends see a new world of possibilities. He is
planning to go to college to study engineering and architecture.
“If it weren't for the LAYC, I would have probably been on
the streets, involved in a gang. The youth center helped me get
my life going.”
LAYC website
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