State Farm and Ya Es Hora ¡Ciudadanía! Partner for Citizenship Workshop
When State Farm joined forces with Ya Es Hora ¡Ciudadanía! at the MEND Community Center to host a citizenship workshop, hundreds received free assistance in completing their United States Naturalization applications.
Ya Es Hora ¡Ciudadanía! assists the more than 8.3 million eligible legal permanent residents to get on the path towards U.S. citizenship. Trained volunteers were there to assist with application completion, immigration attorneys reviewed the applications and conducted overall reviews of the documents being submitted. The Office of Citizenship & Immigration Services was also available to answer questions regarding the citizenship process.
“State Farm’s involvement was phenomenal in reaching the Latino community,” said Sherman Oaks Agent Carlos Cornejo. “It was an educational opportunity that brought out a lot of awareness about immigration issues, with the help of Senator Alex Padilla, who was very warmly welcomed by the participants.”
“The MEND community center housed the event nicely and the immigration attorney who attended was very helpful to folks who were preparing their citizenship paperwork,” Cornejo said.
State Farm’s partnership with the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) allows the company the opportunity to assist with future and potential citizens’ awareness of the legislative and citizenship processes. State Farm had a booth at the event, providing information on teen driver and child passenger safety, the State Farm es Para Mí program, and fun giveaways like soccer balls and balloons for kids.
“I believe citizenship and voting are very important to our ever changing world,” said State Farm Agency Field Executive Terry Gordon. “I was very proud to represent State Farm as a partner in NALEO’s citizenship efforts to assist the community in the naturalization process. It was amazing to see so many partners come together in this effort.”
Lizette Escobedo, NALEO's National Director of Civic Engagement, echoed Gordon’s enthusiasm.
“We are very thankful for State Farms involvement at our citizenship workshop in the city of Pacoima,” Escobedo said. “During this workshop we were able to assist close to 100 applicants file for naturalization. The city of Los Angeles is one of the largest metro areas with the most number of legal permanent residents eligible to naturalize. Having State Farm as a corporate and community partner allows us to little by little reach out to these communities and ensure that they have valuable information and assistance on the process.”