Q&A: Veronica Gloria talks Joliet background, Spanish center future

JOLIET – Veronica Gloria became executive director at the Spanish Community Center in February. She recently sat down with Senior Reporter Bob Okon to discuss her plans for the center and share a bit about herself.

Okon: You’ve spoken publicly about the Spanish Community Center being in jeopardy financially. What’s the situation?

Gloria: We’re in a situation where our budget has consisted of several state grants and funding from United Way, the Silver Cross Hospital Healthy Community Commission, Child Care Resource and Referral, and donors. But the state portion has been a concern of the center. Most of the state funding has been zeroed out for the 2017 budget. That’s not new. As many people know, the state has been going through financial difficulty, and human services have been affected. That’s happening with us, as well. ... It’s going to impact our operations. That’s where we’ll have to reimagine what we can provide. Without this funding, we’ll have to be very creative.

The University of St. Francis has been helpful to us. They have lent us their finance team to talk through our finances, to forecast where we’ll be going. D’Arcy Motors has been very helpful in speaking to us about fundraising ideas. They’ve introduced us to community members willing to help us out.

There was a time that we were very concerned if we would continue. We thought we shouldn’t frame the question in the form of if we’ll continue. Instead we are asking how we will continue. We provide very important services. We see that every day.

Okon: You have an upcoming fundraiser.

Gloria: We have an awards dinner coming up on April 20. We’re very excited to honor Mary Jaworski, who played an important role in Fiesta En La Calle. That’s an important fundraiser that supports the Spanish Community Center. They’re meeting again for this year’s Fiesta En La Calle, and you can tell Mary brings a lot of energy to the cause. ... We’re also going to be awarding Bob O’Dekirk. Mayor Bob O’Dekirk has already come here a few times and expressed interest in seeing how he could help us. We’re very impressed with the [immigration] meeting he had at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. That really alleviated a lot of people’s concerns. ... We’ll also be honoring Silver Cross Hospital, which has provided lots of help over the years through the Silver Cross Hospital Healthy Community Commission.

Okon: Are tickets still available?

Gloria: People can buy tickets on our Eventbrite. Or, they can come here. We’ll also be selling tickets at the door. If people cannot come, they can also make donations.

Okon: Tell us a little about yourself.

Gloria: I was born and raised in Joliet. I was born to immigrant parents from Mexico. My father went to school in this building.

He came here when he was 11 years old. And, I lived across the street from the center until I was 4 years old. I have very vivid memories. My grandfather still lives there. I talked with him the other day and I said, “Remember, how I lied about snakes being in the yard so I didn’t have to go to preschool?” I didn’t want to go to school, and then I went to Harvard. School became very important to me.

Okon: What did you study at Harvard University?

Gloria: I studied social studies with a concentration on inequality in 21st century United States. I had a minor in ethnicity, immigration and human rights. I graduated in 2015.

Okon: Why did you come back to work at the Spanish Community Center?

Gloria: I was always aware of the great work they did in this community. Even when I went to college, my goal was to come back to Joliet to see how I could help. A lot of what I studied is related to what the Spanish Community Center does. ... My thesis was about Joliet. My essay when I applied [to Harvard] was about Joliet.

Okon: Did you have previous experience with the Spanish Community Center?

Gloria: I volunteered to teach computer coding here once before. And, I actually went to Sunday school here.

Okon: What plans do you have as executive director?

Gloria: My biggest plan is first to make sure we continue to provide the important services that we do. Right now, the question is how we move forward, not if. I also want people to understand what we do. A lot of people have the misunderstanding that we only serve Hispanic people. The Spanish Community Center name reflects the heritage of the center. But we have a food pantry and tax services, and you see a very multicultural group of people. ... Our day care is bilingual. We have children from non-Hispanic backgrounds, and when they leave here, they speak both English and Spanish.

Okon: What other services does the Spanish Community Center provide?

Gloria: We also serve as a one-stop for social services. People come here for one concern, but we do a comprehensive intake so we can address all of their concerns. We also have a citizenship and immigration class. That’s the New American Initiative. We have citizenship classes for people of all backgrounds. We have people from Kenya, Poland, the Phillipines, Greece.

Then, we have adult education in computer literacy and ESL [English as a Second Language]. We’re going to work with another nonprofit to provide classes for couples. Then, we have a number of recreational programs that meet here regularly.

Okon: It sounds like you’re learning some things you didn’t learn at Harvard.

Gloria: When I started, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I just stepped into something where I don’t know where we’re going.” I still don’t know. But a lot of people stepped up to help. I feel that I’m not alone. People will ask me, what is more difficult – Harvard or this? I think this is my most difficult challenge. But I’m not alone.