Cargill and Rumba Meats Provide Support for Hispanic Community

Scholarships and Leadership Program for US Hispanic Students and Economic Relief Grants to Small Business Owners

02-Sep-2020 - USA

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, for the second consecutive year, Cargill andRumba Meats, its food brand focused on celebrating family and keeping Latino traditions alive, is partnering with theUnited States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) to award 25 scholarships of $1,000 for post-secondary education. Rumba Meats is also investing in USHLI’s Student Leadership Series program, which serves more than 85,000 high school students, in more than 25 states, annually. The Student Leadership Series is designed to connect students with resources, tools and support to achieve higher education.

High school seniors across the U.S. are invited to apply for the Rumba Meats Scholarship between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30. Unique to the Rumba Meats scholarship application is an essay requiring students to articulate how their heritage has influenced the direction of their lives, their leadership aspirations and how they plan to serve their communities in the future.

“The stories of perseverance and determination from last year’s scholarship recipients are moving,” said Hilary Gerard, Cargill Protein-North America brand manager for Rumba Meats. “These students are using their experiences as Hispanic Americans to inform their long-term education and career ambitions. For example, Christina Arce, from Laredo, Texas, is now pursuing nursing school after seeing her family struggle to communicate with nurses and physicians while her grandmother was hospitalized and battling cancer. She believes all patients should be able to understand their healthcare plan regardless of language barriers.”

Earlier this year, Rumba Meats joined United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to provide $100,000 in economic relief grants to small business owners. One grant recipient shared, “I plan to use a portion of these funds to create a home office for my office manager so that she will not need to take the bus to work and can work safely from home.” Another said “I am extremely honored and very emotional to have been chosen for the micro-grant. One year ago, we started this business and things were wonderful until COVID-19 hit us hard. It’s been so difficult to run my business trying to follow all the different guidelines that are constantly changing. This grant will help us offset some of the additional business expenses.”

For almost 40 years, USHLI has advocated for the education and leadership development of Latinos and similarly disenfranchised groups. Founded in 1982 by Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr. – one of America’s most decorated Hispanic figures – USHLI has empowered millions of Latinos to pursue education, civic engagement and more. The organization’s cornerstone program is its Student Leadership Series – a program dedicated to empowering high school students to stay in school, graduate and pursue post-secondary education.

“Education is the single greatest tool to help today’s youth have a successful future,” said Andrade. “Investment in scholarships from organizations such as Rumba Meats allows students to achieve a higher education and build a future they may have otherwise thought impossible.”

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1167789/cargill-and-rumba-meats-provide-support-for-hispanic-community.html