A Community Based Organization Serving the Needs of a Growing Hispanic Community~

The Chamber of Hispanic Affairs (CHA) (Oficina de Asuntos Hispanos) is a 501(c) non-for-profit community based organization that has been serving the Gainesville community for more than 7 years. The CHA seeks to address issues and causes of importance to the Hispanic-Latino community through collaborative partnerships with other community based organizations, civic groups, government bodies and charitable organizations. The Chamber has expanded its scope of service to not only the North Central Florida area but to surrounding counties as well. The organization now has expanded to the Live Oak, Ocala, and Lake City area.

Most notably the CHA is known for its annual Downtown Latino Festival, which takes place in the Gainesville Downtown Community Plaza every September during National Hispanic Heritage Month. The family friendly celebration attracts vendors and community members from all over north Florida and out of state. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the positive contributions and achievements of the Latino community. We also strive to connect the Hispanic population and greater community to resources such as health awareness, screenings, etc. The event consists of food vendors, informational booths, cultural performances, live music, etc. This year, we are planning the 7th Annual Downtown Latino Festival for September 20, 2008 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. As always, the festival is open to the entire community! For more information visit http://www.downtownlatino.org.

The CHA also hosts a program titled “Espirito Latino” which brings together the community of faith for worship and praise. The Chamber also hosts a weekly (Saturday mornings) Spanish broadcast on a local radio station in the Gainesville area devoted to Spanish faith community. The mission of the radio station component is outreach to the surrounding Hispanic communities on issues of faith, health, HIV/AIDS, etc. This component of the organization is under the Hispanic Christian Leadership Alliance. The Chamber of Hispanic Affairs also promotes migrant worker outreach through supporting teaching English classes, health fairs, etc.

The Chamber has established a working relationship with the Alachua County Health Department, Rural Women’s Health Care, City of Gainesville, Florida Immigrant Coalition, etc. The primary mission of the Chamber of Hispanic Affairs is to connect individuals seeking to get involved with opportunities to serve.

The Chamber is always looking for interested individuals to get involved with the organization. The organization also seeks donations from the community to continue to serve and empower others into meaningful action.