Neighbors Link Spring Benefit Raises $735K to Empower New Americans

Neighbors Link Spring Benefit Raises $735K to Empower New Americans with Skills and Resources, Honors Longtime Leader, Carola Otero Bracco

Newly Announced Immigrant Empowerment Campaign Drives Commonsense Solutions on a Local and Regional Level – Filling Gaps for Immigrants where Polarizing Political Initiatives Fail

Mount Kisco, NY – On Thursday, May 30th, close to 400 supporters, donors, volunteers, and community members gathered at the GlenArbor Golf Club for “Festival de Primavera,” the Neighbors Link annual spring benefit. More than $735,000 was raised at the event, which featured the announcement of a new Immigrant Empowerment Campaign designed to fill significant resource gaps for immigrants across the Hudson Valley. The campaign has raised $5.5 million towards an $8.5 million fundraising goal.

Honoring a Legacy of Leadership

The event honored Executive Director Carola Otero Bracco for her 20 years of visionary leadership and dedication to championing immigrant integration and empowerment. In addition to successful life-changing programs, such as workforce development, ESL instruction, and immigration legal services, Otero Bracco’s focus on community engagement has built cultural awareness and trusted relationships among immigrant communities, the Westchester Police Department and the Department of Social Services.

In accepting her recognition, Otero Bracco emphasized the leadership role that Neighbors Link has taken to help immigrants into their communities. “As New York State has seen an increase in new arrivals, Neighbors Link is empowering people with the skills and resources needed to stabilize their lives and settle in new homes. In turn, our entire community has been enriched by the diversity, talents and aspirations of new Americans.”

Additional honors were presented to Police Officer Eddie Ramirez, Jr., who received the Gabby Rosenfeld “Be a Hero” Award for his exceptional commitment to foster trust and improve communication among Westchester’s diverse communities.

Immigrant Empowerment Campaign

In announcing the campaign, Otero Bracco reinforced Neighbors Link’s commitment to assisting asylum seekers who are fleeing danger and oppression. “While recent ineffective policy has been initiated at the southern border, Neighbors Link will continue to fill gaps for asylum seekers with boot-on-the-ground programs that make sense and make a difference in the lives of families who are fleeing dangerous living conditions and seek only to find legal pathways to work, contribute, and find acceptance in America -- as all of our families have done for more than 200 years.”

Funds raised through the Immigrant Empowerment Campaign will support multiple programs for employment success, including computer and internet training, career counseling, increased

ESL offerings, and practical training for in-demand jobs, like home health care, construction and the trades. Neighbors Link will increase the capacity of its free, high-quality immigration legal services by hiring more attorneys and paralegals to join current staff. The campaign will also support the organization’s relocation of its Mount Kisco headquarters to a larger space with essential technology infrastructure upgrades. This relocation will enable Neighbors Link to expand services, especially workforce development and digital literacy training, as well as providing more space for children to learn and play.

About Neighbors Link

The Neighbors Link mission is to strengthen the whole community through the healthy integration of immigrants. Our mission is achieved by filling a service gap for new immigrant families, offering education and empowerment programs, involving longer-term residents in volunteer opportunities, and creating substantive partnerships with other local organizations. Our strategies to educate, empower and employ families include a Worker Center, English language education, digital inclusion programming, legal services and advocacy, workforce development, parent education, early childhood programs and academic support for school-age children of immigrants.

Neighbors Link is headquartered in Mount Kisco, has three locations in Westchester County and offers services throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley. For more information on locations or programs, please call us at 914-666-3410.

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