Coming This Fall!

The Bienestar program has produced a trainer’s manual, Serving Our Hispanic Neighbors, funded by the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, to instruct agencies and organizations in how to assist the Hispanic community. This project is based on the Promotores Project that Santa Maria has used for the last four years. The approaches to the work come from the perspective of involving grassroots community members in outreach to the Hispanic/Latino community. The manual, with accompanying DVD of vignettes, will be made available through a train-the-trainer workshop starting this fall. For more information, please contact Gladys Bell at (513) 557-2700 ext. 204 or email her at gladys.bell@santamaria-cincy.org.

Better Business Bureau Recognizes Marketplace Ethics in Tri-State

Integrity. Trust. Fair play. Honest competition. Truth in advertising. Sometimes in today's fast-paced world, companies forget the basic rules of an ethical marketplace in their effort to capture the illusive share of the pie. The Better Business Bureau, founded with a mission to see that all share in the opportunity through a fair and equitable marketplace, annually recognizes businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Tri-state area for their commitment to the ideals of marketplace ethics.

At a gala evening at Cincinnati's Music Hall, the BBB celebrated this year's 19 finalists for the Bureau's 2004 Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics.

And Santa Maria Community Services emerged as a winner!

"The Torch Award encompasses the spirit and tradition of the BBB unlike anything else," BBB President Jocile Ehrlich said. "It recognizes and honors businesses and organizations who fully commit themselves to ethical practices in all aspects of their business dealings."

The Cincinnati BBB was founded in 1926 when the economy was roaring. Consumers needed to be able to rely and trust the companies they dealt with on a daily basis. The BBB's founding members recognized that need and formed an organization that would set standards, lead the way, and promote a betterm respectable and more ethical marketplace. The Torch Awards are a continuation of the BBB's 78-year tradition and commitment to furthering that mission.

The Torch Award recipients were chosen by a distinguished panel of independent judges that included: Dr. Daniel Geeding, Vice President and C. F. O., Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati; Ann Marie Tracey, J. D., Assistant Professor, Accountancy, Xavier University; Dr. Robert Faaborg, Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of Cincinnati; Sandra Hughes, Global Privacy Executive, Procter and Gamble. The judges evaluated the applications based on the eight judging criteria established by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the International Torch Award Program. The finalists were chosen by the judges based on the overall scores; the Torch Award recipient being the top finalist in wach category.

Santa Maria Community Services would like to congratulate all of the 2004 Torch Award winners: Meyer Capital Management, SparkPeople, Inc., Champion Window and Door Manufacturing and Cincinnati Union Bethel; Honorable Mentions: Cincinnati Cabinet Refacing, Total Quality Logistics, Inc., Crayons to Computers, and People Working Cooperatively; and other finalists: Libertas Technologies LLC, Steve Zimmer Remodeling, Fredric's Institute, Blaine Pharmaceuticals, HHB Partners, Inc., ISOC.net, Ghent Manufacturing, Life Center Organ Donor Network, Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, Inc.

Thank you also to the Cincinnati Better Business Bureau for the opportunity to show that we are committed to integrity and ethical behavior as we carry out our mission to assist those in the Price Hill and Sedamsville communities.