BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month Thursday night with its annual awards gala at SteelStacks, bringing together members of the community for an evening of recognition, entertainment, and giving back.
This year’s theme, “Brillamos Juntos,” which translates to “We Shine Together,” focused on unity and the contributions of the Hispanic community throughout the Lehigh Valley.
“The goal of the event tonight is to bring the community together,” said Dan Lopez, vice chair of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Lehigh Valley.
“One of the most important factors that we want to make sure that the Hispanic community understands is that they are part of the overall community,” he added.
The gala featured live entertainment, including dancers who traveled from Spain, as well as a DJ and live music.
But organizers also used the event as an opportunity to support people facing food insecurity in the region. Lopez said attendees were asked to bring canned goods that would be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank, which provides food assistance to people in need.
“We are asking every attendee to donate canned goods that we can go ahead and then bring over to the Second Harvest Foundation to help our community,” Lopez said. “We take that very seriously.”
Sandra Bieber, chief philanthropy officer at Community Action Lehigh Valley, said gala attendees donated Hispanic foods that will be distributed to people in need throughout the region.
“People are really suffering under these SNAP cuts, the first round and then the proposed second round of SNAP cuts,” Bieber said.
“So, people are really feeling the pinch of that. We want to be able to be there and have their back and support them with this,” Bieber added.
The evening celebrated the work already being done throughout the Hispanic community while highlighting efforts to build a stronger future.