We love growing relationships — it’s how we learn about new ministry opportunities and partnerships in our community. Most importantly, we get the honor of knowing and loving the giving people around us. With Spring just around the corner, Ciudad Nueva’s community Community Advisory Board has re-launched!
Facilitated by our Community Connectors, Our Community Advisory Board meets once a month and is made up of neighborhood parents, seniors, teens–people who love our neighborhood! The Community Advisory Board enables community members to serve each other by sharing their assets and working together to advocate for the health and wellness of our community. The board currently meets outside with seating spaced according to current COVID guidelines. When it is safe to do so, the board will meet inside Ciudad Nueva’s campus.
Community Connectors: Connecting our Community to Meet Needs
Tamy Diaz and Alma Martinez serve as two of our three current Community Connectors. They are staff members dedicated to digging deeper into our neighborhood. They take time to listen to the needs of our neighbors and shine a light on our local assets. Our Community Connectors do this both at micro and macro levels- connecting with neighbors one and one and helping facilitate our monthly Community Advisory Board meetings.
Tamy has been a Community Connector for about two years and she loves creating space where the gifts and passions of her neighbors are used to help strengthen our overall community. She shared how a local mom, Mari, has stepped up to help lead the Community Advisory Board meetings. Mari, who also serves at Ciudad Nueva as a Community Connector, is gifted at loving and serving people.
Tamy also believes in listening and acting on the felt and expressed needs of our neighbors together with them instead of telling them what they need. Tamy goes above and beyond to serve and connect people. She currently walks with our community members, helping them enroll their children in school programs, find employment, and find help meeting emergency needs like utility assistance.
She’s also been able to connect a local home health provider with underserved patients in our community. Tamy takes pride in bringing two parties together, and letting them take it from there! “I feel so grateful to have these hard working people on board,” she shared.
Alma also serves with us as a Community Connector. She is a firm believer that the talents and resources needed to help our community thrive can be found right here in El Paso. She shared that our local neighbors do not always know what resources are out there. Alma finds joy in sharing the connections she knows of and discovering new ones.
Blessed by the continuous giving displayed by our community, Alma feels the outpouring of El Paso’s compassion. “I’m learning what’s going on in the community. I love that the community cares for each other and loves each other,” she shared.
Alma has a special compassion for our elderly community members. She regularly visits them, delivering food, medicine, and an encouraging word. She takes care to ensure that each visit is both purposeful and loving.
Ciudad Nueva’s community connectors are hard at work! They know that we each and altogether have something valuable to contribute to help our community thrive. The care and love shown by the people of El Paso encourage us and help us move forward in fulfilling our mission.
As our Community Connectors continue to walk alongside our community through one-on-one visits and the Community Advisory Board, please pray that:
- Local needs will be met in new and innovative ways
- New resources and assets will become available
- God will be glorified through it all!
Ciudad Nueva is a community-based nonprofit that exists to advance the renewal and development of central El Paso’s Rio Grande neighborhood through the empowerment and transformation of its residents. Interested in lending a hand? Call us today at 915-521-2951 or contact us online.
