The October Cause of the month is the Latino Development Organization.  Latino Development Fund (LDO) works to achieve equity for all prisoners, with a focus on the Latinx community, by maximizing their educational, professional, and personal development opportunities.

The LDO community is made up of men in prison who have chosen to step away from gang control and have sought community/family in LDO. In this group they work hard to own their past and not let it define their future. They are committed to educating themselves and each other and many have earned advanced degrees in math, finance, parenting, psychology, and literature. They want to contribute to the larger community. 

LDO is currently serving both the Twin Rivers Unit and the Minimum-Security Unit in Monroe and the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen.

The Board of Directors of LDO meets regularly with Executive Committee members of the LDO Inmate Advisory Board (IAB) for consultation, planning and consensus building. All major decisions, including Board recruitment, are vetted through both groups. The LDO Board will not act without consultation or consent of the IAB.

For example, LDO is developing the Plaza Comunitaria program. This program is taught in Spanish, and will provide Latino participants, including those who will be deported upon completion of their sentence, with a Plaza Comunitaria diploma corresponding to their completed grade level, issued by the Mexican government. This will enable the participants to benefit from greater professional opportunities when returning home. They’ll have a greater likelihood of leading positive and self-determined lives after reentry. Click here to learn more about their programs.

As always, thank you for your generous donations.

If you have an organization that you wish to nominate for Sunday cause of the month, we invite you to fill out the online nomination form at https://euuc.org/sunday-offering/