By: Ashmar Mandou

This Friday, Centro Romero, a community-based non-profit organization that serves the communities of Edgewater, Rogers Park, and Uptown, will honor 20 graduates who successfully completed the University of Illinois Food and Nutrition Education Program. Students participated in workshops that equipped them with the knowledge to transform their minds, bodies, and souls while overcoming adversity, such as domestic violence. Centro Romero provides vital services for the health, personal and social development of participants and their families. As a result, Centro Romero will receive a $15,000 grant from Verizon as part of the company’s HopeLine program, which provides support for domestic violence awareness and prevention. Prior to the graduation celebration, Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper spoke with Co-Founder of Centro Romero, Daysi J. Funes, Public Relations Manager for the Great Lakes Market for Verizon Steve Van Dinter, and one participant of the program, who asked not to be identified for sensitivity issues, who all shared their thoughts on the importance of the program.

Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: As Executive Director and Co-Founder of Centro Romero, how does it feel to be able to equip women with the tools to transform their lives?
Daysi J. Funes: Centro Romero thanks Verizon for its help in equipping the women with the tools to transform their lives, increase their self-esteem, and raise more healthy kids.

Talk to me about the importance of the University of Illinois Extension program?
We are very thankful that the UIC Extension program chose Centro Romero allowing us to provide further support for domestic violence awareness and prevention. The extension program provide essential supportive services for the health, personal and social development of participants and their families.

With the grant from Verizon, how do you intend to use it to create more programs that deal with domestic abuse prevention?
In 2016 alone Centro Romero served over 6,000 clients and the award from Verizon will help us implement a financial literacy project for the graduates and others in the domestic violence prevention program.

Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: Tell me about the Verizon’s HopeLine program?
Steve Van Dinter: Verizon’s HopeLine program is one unlike any other. It’s truly a way for people to make a difference in their communities simply by donating no longer used phones, accessories or chargers. Anyone with no longer used devices from any provider can drop these off at a Verizon store. Those phones, chargers and accessories are recycled or refurbished and go directly to helping survivors of domestic violence – whether in the form of cash grants to organizations like Centro Romero or phones that are truly hope lines for those that need them.

From your standpoint, why is it important for a company like Verizon to get involved with an organization like Centro Romero?
Domestic violence unfortunately affects one in three women and one in seven men in their lifetimes which makes it an epidemic in our communities. The way to make a difference is doing so at the local level. Centro Romero is one of those organizations working hard to help those who are survivors. Their programs make a huge difference providing vital resources to members of our Spanish-speaking communities. And we couldn’t be happier supporting them.

What would you like women to know about the HopeLine program?
HopeLine is a program that works with domestic violence organizations in communities across the country. Encourage your friends to help us continue to make a difference by donating no longer used phones, chargers and accessories at any Verizon store.

Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: Congratulations on completing the University of Illinois Food and Nutrition Education Program. How and when did you hear about the Nutrition Program?
Participant: I heard about the Nutrition Program at Centro Romero during our Women’s Group on a Friday right after finishing with another great program.

What circumstances led you to participate?
As a woman, I think it is very important to have healthy nutritional habits in terms of food and what you eat daily. Personally, I have had struggles with food. I strongly believe that that was one of the reasons for me to participate in the program. The Nutrition Program teaches you to be aware of labels and how to read them. Most of the time when you are hungry you grab from the grocery store anything that looks good to the eye. That does not mean that it will be healthy and nutritional to your body.

How has the program transformed your life?
The program has helped me a lot. My refrigerator is full of vegetables, fruit, and healthy protein. Before, I used to buy green juices thinking that I was drinking something very healthy. Often times those green juices are very sugary and have artificial components that make our system develop fat and other health problems. Now, I make my green juices on my own and I know, for sure, what I am giving to my body is something nutritional and healthy.

What would you like other women to know about the Nutrition Program?
I would like other women to know about the Nutritional Program that it is a life changing lifestyle for you and for your family. Especially for those women who are married and have children. I would motivate them to change old bad habits for healthy ones. Our body is our temple. If you treat it right, everything else will be in harmony. After all, if we want to live an optimal life, we have to start by taking good care of what we eat daily.