(CHICAGO) - On Monday, March 31, at 9:00 a.m. at the Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, Second Floor Gym, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn will host the 5th Annual Cesar Chavez Serve & Learn Program breakfast to commemorate the birth of our country's greatest Hispanic American civil rights leader and honor the students and teachers who spent the month of March giving back to their communities. Each year, in honor of Chavez's (March 31) birthday, students and teachers across the Land of Lincoln take the month of March to participate in service-learning projects designed to teach the importance of service to others through academic instruction and community-service. The Cesar Chavez Serve & Learn Program breakfast offers students an opportunity to showcase their projects. "Cesar Chavez's legacy of leadership is one of non-violent, grassroots organizing and service to others," Quinn said. "His dedication and sacrifice created a legacy that touched lives of millions of people, and this legacy lives on here today through the students who are learning by actively serving their communities." This year, Illinois students are participating in more than 170 curriculum-based service-learning projects to celebrate Chavez's life, including murals, food drives, commemorative marches, anti-gang workshops, drama performances and other service learning activities. Quinn will be joined at the breakfast celebration by Arthur Rodriguez, grandson of Cesar Chavez, Anita Alvarez, Chief Deputy in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office; State Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero); State Rep. Esther Golar (D-Chicago); Ald. George Cardenas (12th); Ald. Daniel Solis (25th); Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th); Ald. Rey Colon (35th); Ald. Willie Cochran (20th); Chavez Multicultural Academic Center Principal Ariel Correa; Frank Avila, Commissioner of Metropolitan Water Reclamation; and radio host Javier Salas. "This genuine American hero spent a lifetime improving the conditions of farm workers and struggling for social justice for immigrants, the impoverished, and workers everywhere," Quinn said. "He is a role model for anyone interested in public service, and I salute the students across the Land of Lincoln who are following his example and serving others." More than 5,000 students have participated in programs through the Cesar Chavez Serve and Learn Program organized by the Lt. Governor's Office in partnership with the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, the Illinois State Board of Education, and Chicago Public Schools. Chavez was a civil rights crusader who dedicated his life to improving the standard of living, wages and working conditions of farm workers. A skilled organizer, he founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). His boycotts of grape and lettuce producers focused public attention on farm workers' inhumane conditions and earned him international attention. He was also a war veteran who joined the U.S. Navy in 1945 and served in the western Pacific at the end of WWII. Visit www.ServeAndLearn.org for more information. |