Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania

Community Matters

Immigration Hearings Before Pennsylania State House

Thank you to Robert Nix, Esquire and his team of researchers who compiled thoughtful testimony regarding the immigration debate. To view the written testimony submitted on behalf of the HBA, please click the following link:
http://www.hbapa.com/downloads/ImmigrationTestimony.pdf

Philadelphia Fair Housing Project

The Philadelphia Fair Housing Project needs your help to ensure that people of all backgrounds are treated equally during their search for housing. Become a Fair Housing Tester and receive a stipend to join the fight against housing discrimination. Please click on this link for more information about becoming a Fair Housing Tester: (link to pdf file to be added here shortly).

For more information about the the Philadelphia Fair Housing Project, visit the Fair Housing Council of Montgomery County's website at www.fairhousingmontco.org.

Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive

Each year, members of the HBA prepare and hand-deliver Thanksgiving food packages to needy Latino families in North Philadelphia as part of its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. The Thanksgiving Food Drive Committee works with area clergy to identify families who are in need and coordinates with its members and local supermarkets for food and cash donations. Cash donations are used to purchase the supplies to prepare a traditional Hispanic Thanksgiving meal.

The typical Thanksgiving package includes a turkey large enough to feed the entire family, rice, beans, potatoes, stuffing, gravy and a pie. The packages are hand-delivered a few days before Thanksgiving by members of the HBA and their families, who have volunteered their time for this worthy cause. Many feel it is a good opportunity for their children to learn the importance of helping others and gain a better appreciation for the true meaning of the holiday. But more important than this, we all understand the importance of this event in terms of maintaining a connection with Philadelphia's Latino community and providing vital assistance to its most vulnerable members.

For more information or to volunteer for this annual event, email Pedro J . Rivera at pedro.rivera@wachovia.com