"Continue the dream of El Centro;" Lorain's Latino social services organization celebrates 50 years

ELYRIA — Lorain's Latino community and those who support it came together on Saturday to celebrate the 50th anniversary gala of the Latino services organization El Centro de Servicios Sociales Inc. They gathered to honor five decades of dedicated service to the residents of Lorain, talk about how they could continue to serve that community in new ways and celebrate the announcement of a major new project for El Centro. "It's a blessing you all coming here and supporting us and (having) all of you here to celebrate this is truly a blessing, so thank you, thank you for being here," El Centro Executive Director Victor Leandry said during his address. The 50th anniversary "Golden Grand Gala" was attended by hundreds at the Lorain County Community College's Spitzer Conference Center. Leandry and El Centro Board Chair Catherine Woskobnick presented to the crowd on the history of El Centro and its ongoing work serving Lorain's Latino community, as well as a growing number of non-Latino residents, who now make up about 30 percent of El Centro services. Near the end of the address, Leandry also made a major announcement; El Centro planned to open a new facility, the El Centro Opportunity Center. The new facility at 1825 E. 28th St. will have its grand opening on Dec. 5, and will be focused on helping families in Lorain obtain upward social and economic mobility. "It's just dedicated to help families from South Lorain — Latino or not — to move ahead in the economic chain," Leandry said "Like starting small businesses, getting better jobs and connecting to school or college." Helping residents take their next steps may be the next step for El Centro itself, but the attendees of the Gala made sure to remember their history as well, which began in 1974 when a group of Latinos in South Lorain endeavored to start a social services organization for their community. Three of the four former executive directors of El Centro were on hand to be honored and they all joined Leandry at center stage. The first El Centro executive director, Rocky Ortiz; second, Gene Rivera; and the third — following a second stint by Ortiz — Nelson Ramirez received trophies honoring their work and a standing ovation from the gala. The fourth executive director, Crystel Ivonne Llado, who served before Leandry took over, was unable to attend in person, but was honored and included in a video celebrating El Centro's history. "Sometimes being from a minority community or leading a minority agency is not easy, so thank you to these heroes that started this organization," Leandry said before welcoming his predecessors to the stage. "Because to me they are heroes. So thank you … I can't imagine what you went through in 1974 to start an organization like that." After being recognized, Ortiz said "I challenge all of you to continue the dream of El Centro." Rivera also addressed the crowd after being recognized, reminding those in attendance of where the idea of El Centro first came from. "El Centro comes out of the Civil Rights Movement," he said. "Whatever we do, try to remember that it is better to love than hate, and it is better to have peace than war." All three of the former El Centro executives who were present on Saturday said they were happy to be with their friends and community to celebrate what they had all built together. Ortiz said that he never could have foreseen what El Centro would become when he became its first executive director all those years ago. "I think we still have the same dreams, but we need to have them manifest in a variety of different ways," Ortiz said. "Which is the history of El Centro, coalescing a community to address human services, political advocacy, justice … the seeds have blossomed in more ways than I could have imagined." Rivera said he was happy to see the joy and celebration that El Centro had brought, and that he believed El Centro and the community it built provided a crucial voice to the Latino community. "The goal was to provide not only social services, but also to provide increased agency for a group of people who did not have agency," Rivera said. Ramirez said that one of the things he was most proud of from his time as executive director was helping to begin the El Centro tradition of annual galas. The first gala was held under Ramirez in 1993 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Spanish's arrival to Puerto Rico. "It's crazy, 50 years to being here," Ramirez said. "And the thing is, there's still so much excitement, I can just sense it. It's not like an organization that's living in the past, it's an organization that's looking forward to its future. There's a great energy in this building, and a great energy in its (El Centro's) staff." Since Ramirez helped begin El Centro's gala tradition, the events have become crucial fundraising events for the organization and Saturday's 50th celebration was no different. Leandry said he did not have the number raised off-hand, but Saturday's gala was the largest single fundraising event in El Centro's 50 year history. "For me it's a complete honor," Leandry said before the event . "We sold out before we even announced it. … We sold out while we were still planning." In the 2024 fiscal year, El Centro provided social services to 8,916 individuals, 95 percent of whom were classified as having a low-to-moderate income level. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.