Sept. 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., which honors the unique culture and history of people who hail from Spanish-speaking countries.
At Welcome Tech, this month-long celebration has special importance. That’s because the company’s platform, SABEResPODER, provides Hispanic immigrants and their families with the resources they need to thrive in America.
According to Chairman and Co-founder Raul Lomeli-Azoubel’s mind, Welcome Tech’s plans for Hispanic Heritage Month are a testament to the company’s commitment to Latinas and Latinos, which defines their operations all-year long.
“Our company has a deep history of service toward the nation’s Latinx community,” Lomeli-Azoubel said. “Our employees take pride in mentoring, volunteering and networking in addition to getting Hispanic people engaged in leadership opportunities.”
Welcome Tech isn’t the only local company with big plans to celebrate Latinx heritage. According to Jessica Trujillo, talent acquisition partner at contextual intelligence company GumGum, the organization has scheduled a series of events and guest speakers in an effort to educate employees about all facets of Hispanic culture.
Built In LA caught up with Lomeli-Azoubel and Trujillo to learn how both companies honor and support the nation’s Latinos and Latinas during Hispanic Heritage Month — and beyond.
What is your company doing this year to celebrate and honor the cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans throughout history?
We are having Hispanic Heritage Foundation CEO Antonio Tijerino speak with the company about the history of the community and how to support its members. We are also completing a lunch-and-learn series with our EVP of marketing, Maria Twena, on the multigenerational Hispanic household, securing deep insights on the Hispanic market across acculturation levels. We will celebrate that with catered lunch from a local Oaxacan restaurant. Additionally, our LA-based team will visit Olvera Street, a historic Mexican-American landmark, to learn more about our local Hispanic history.
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What other activities or charitable initiatives do you have planned for Hispanic Heritage Month?
This month, we are working toward establishing a charitable fund dedicated to the Hispanic community. The fund is intended to provide financial assistance to eligible nonprofit and community-based organizations that support, educate and empower Mexican immigrants who are living in or have been deported from the U.S. Funds will be used to deliver services in priority areas identified by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad as key needs for Hispanic immigrants, including health, education, financial inclusion and economic development.
We are also in the process of creating new content, including a story titled, "¿Qué se celebra durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana?” or “What is celebrated during Hispanic Heritage Month?” This article will be posted on our platform and sent to hundreds of thousands of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. We are also creating additional content to be shared throughout the month that highlights influential people of Hispanic descent, such as three executive blogs in which key executives share their personal experiences as immigrants.
We are proud to make an impact in support of our mission.”
What are some ongoing programs, initiatives and benefits your company offers to support and empower Hispanic employees throughout the year?
We offer paid time off to volunteer and nurture those who need support and mentoring in the Hispanic community during this month-long celebration, as well as the rest of the year. Some of the organizations we are involved with include PROFMEX, which is the Worldwide Consortium for Mexico Policy Research; MALDEF, the Latinx legal voice for civil rights in America and Hispanics in Philanthropy. We also offer paid rotational internships for employees’ children earning high school and college degrees so they can make informed career choices based on their experiences with us. We are proud to make an impact in support of our mission.
What is your company doing this year to celebrate and honor the cultures and contributions of Hispanic Americans throughout history?
GumGum is honored and excited to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a great opportunity for us to educate our employees, who we call GumGummers, about Hispanic and Latin American history, culture and traditions.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, we’ve planned a series of events and inspiration sessions and compiled a list of restaurant recommendations, notable places to visit and must-listen musical acts related to Hispanic culture. The celebration will last from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Additionally, GumGum’s DEI committee, the VOICE Coalition team, has welcomed employees from various backgrounds to join the Hispanic Heritage committee, where they will lead the company’s events.
What other activities or charitable initiatives do you have planned for Hispanic Heritage Month?
One of the events that we have planned is a “Leadership Bites Cooking Class” spinoff, which we’re calling “LatinX Bites Takeover.” This program brings GumGummers together for an evening of fun, great food and meaningful conversation. We will invite GumGummers to make traditional foods from various Latin cultures, such as Mexican street tacos, Argentine empanadas and Peruvian ceviche.
Our second event that we will host is team-building trivia inspired by Hispanic heritage. This fun and educational game will test its players on the anniversary of independence of several Latin countries. There will be lots of fun and prizes, which we’ve sourced from Latino/Hispanic-owned businesses.
Another event we have planned is our Women of GumGum “inspiration sessions.” These sessions are designed for us to come together and listen to an inspiring podcast or TedTalk followed by a discussion based on what we've just watched. In our first session, we will watch Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez’s TedTalk, “What’s Missing From the American Immigrant Narrative.” Our second session will feature a TedTalk by Gabby Rivera on the story of Marvel’s first queer Latina superhero.
Throughout the month, we will also share facts about notable Latinos in history and pop culture, such as Sylvia Rivera, Cesar Chavez, Celia Cruz, Pablo Neruda, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. We will also share recommendations for Latino writers, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel Cervantes and Laura Esquivel. Additionally, we’ll offer recommendations for films that support Latino actors, producers and writers, such as Roma, Under the Same Moon and Innocent Voices.
We will also host weekly Slack challenges. For each entry that a GumGummer shares, they enter a raffle to have the opportunity to win a prize from a Latino/Hispanic-owned business. For employees interested in visiting a Latin country, we will share with them a CEROS experience, which will have a map of places where they can visit, such as Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, and Bolivia.
GumGum is always looking for ways to give back to our communities and support organizations.”
What are some ongoing programs, initiatives and benefits your company offers to support and empower the Hispanic community throughout the year?
GumGum is always looking for ways to give back to our communities and support organizations. We look for ways to support small businesses from different communities, and for this month, we will exclusively support Latino/Hispanic-owned businesses.
We also want to encourage our GumGummers to give back, so we’ve curated a list of organizations that support Latin countries, such as Amazon Cares, Santi y Sus Amigos, Amnistía Internacional Venezuela and Fundación Mi Sangre.
