The League of United Latin American Citizens has secured a grant from Bell Atlantic for support of its Empower Hispanic America with Technology Project. This innovative project will revolutionize grass roots advocacy in the Hispanic community by creating a nationwide network of Hispanic non-profit organizations, associations, professionals, students, business leaders, and advocates who will work collaboratively through the use of state of the art telecommunication technologies. Our goal is to empower the Hispanic community by increasing access to and utilization of key telecommunication technologies that have up to now been out of reach of many Hispanic Americans.

The project has three components: The first is to redesign LULAC's web site using the latest web technologies to create a sophisticated information center where Hispanics can share information and work collaboratively on community-based projects and advocacy activities. Key additions to the LULAC web site would include:

1). Enhanced user-friendly interface.

2). A moderated Hispanic leader mail list to get time sensitive information to top Hispanic leaders while their is still time to take action.

3). Community bulletin boards where users can discuss issues and programs, and share key strategies and best practices.

4). A private "Members Only Area" accessible with member ID number where important internal issues can be debated and discussed.

5). Integration of the Capitol Advantage Congressional Directory into the web site so that users can look up their Congressman and Representatives in order to send a letter or check on their voting record.

6). An online community referral center where users can look up community-based organizations and other service providers in their neighborhood and get a map and directions to selected sites.

7). A Congressional Scorecard to let the community know how their representatives voted.

8). The ability to create free LULAC email addresses for community users who may not have their own email address.

9). A secure cash transaction system for individuals to join or renew their LULAC membership and/or make contributions to our programs and relief efforts.

LULAC will retain at least one full time staff member at our cost to keep the web site fresh with new content each day. With Bell Atlantic's assistance, LULAC's web site will become the most informative and widely accessed web site in the Hispanic community.

The second component is the establishment of 30 community technology stations where Hispanic non-profit organizations, associations, professionals, students, business leaders, and advocates will have access to the internet and the LULAC web site. Our goal is to provide telecommunications technology access to individuals who might not otherwise have access to the information superhighway and allow them to fully participate in the LULAC online information and collaboration center.

Extensive training and technical assistance will be provided by LULAC council volunteers who will also maintain the workstations and ensure that important action alerts are distributed throughout the community.

The third component is a Bell Atlantic internet cafe training center to be set up at the LULAC National Convention Exposition from June 25 through July 1, 2000 in Washington, DC to provide internet training to convention participants. The training will feature LULAC's web site.