Orgullosa Hispanic Heritage Month Package Giveaway

I'm having an Orgullosa House Party with my closest group of girlfriends this coming weekend and you too can be a part of the fun!

Orgullosa is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and they've sent me over a bunch of beauty items for a party of ten. We are going to use the nail polish to create some fun "nail art" to celebrate our culture.  

So here is where you dear reader come in. They are also sending me a giveaway for one of my readers, which includes beauty products and an iPod Shuffle!

The Orgullosa Hispanic Heritage Month Package Giveaway (the “Sweepstakes”) begins on October 8, 2013 at 4:00:01 P.M. Central Time (“CT”) and ends on October 15, 2013 at 11:59:01 P.M. CT (the “Promotion Period”).

How to Enter: During the Promotion Period, send an email with "Orgullosa Hispanic Heritage" in the Subject line to Shoegirlcorner (at) Yahoo (dot) com. A limit of one entry is allowed per person.

One winner will be selected. All winning entries will be randomly generated on or shortly after the Entry Deadline Date. If your name is drawn and you meet the eligibility requirements and otherwise comply with these Official Sweepstakes Rules, you win the prize. The winner will be notified by email from Shoegirlcorner

Official Rules

Sponsored Post

MECA Made a Difference in Poet Laureate's Life

The very first time I heard Gwendolyn Zepeda read was at MECA Houston (Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts) in Houston's old Sixth Ward. She was wearing a wonderfully tacky gown at her "Quinceañera I was Too Poor to Have" event where she read some of her essays about her experiences growing up in that same neighborhood. It was amazing and I fell in love with her as a writer.

Photo courtesy of Gwendolyn Zepeda and Photo by Lawrence P. Lander

Gwendolyn Zepeda was announced as Houston's first Poet Laureate by Mayor Annise Parker in April of this year. She will serve a two year term 2013-2015. She is a published author of chap books, novels, and children's books, including Houston, We Have a Problema, Lonestar, Better with You Here, Growing up with Tamales, Sunflowers, and I Kick the Ball.

One of the coolest things about Gwendolyn Zepeda is that she's a Houstonian and grew up attending MECA and she believes this shaped who she is today.

"I was there *all the time*, after school and throughout each summer, and there were so many experiences that affected all aspects of my life -- artistic, academic, and social," she said.

When I asked her about her greatest experience at MECA Gwen said that the important experiences she had were really "cumulative," and she goes on to list some specifics.

"MECA partnered with Discover Dance to provide ballet classes for several years, and those classes fixed my knocked knees and bad posture, and improved my confidence for the rest of my life."

One specific experience that she remembers fondly was the time they went to Baybrook Mall when she was around 16 and performed songs from Leader of the Pack as part of a summer show. She said, "afterwards a little girl of about 9 came up to me and told me that she wanted to be like me when I got older."

She goes on to say, "Doing the performances taught me public speaking and improvisational skills. The dance and voice classes that prepared me for the performances taught me discipline and the value of constant growth. Watching our teachers and program directors taught me project management skills. Alice Valdez and her employees and her donors put together events that I never would've imagined could happen in our neighborhood."

It's experiences like this that are great examples of how great MECA's work is in the Houston community and why Houstonians should support this great organization. Funding for this organization will help pay for these great programs that make a difference in a young child's life.

 It's no wonder they were one of the five organizations chosen by P&G's Orgullosa Project. Facebook followers can vote for one of the organizations and Orgullosa will donate to these organizations based on their ranking in the votes. So far MECA is in third place and it needs our votes to move up in the ranking. If you haven't seen their Facbook page go "Like It" and then vote for MECA Houston.

Disclaimer: I am a compensated endorser for the P&G Orgullosa Project.

Help Support MECA and the Orgullosa Project

Nestled in Houston's Historic Sixth Ward MECA- Multicultural Education and Counseling Through the Arts has been providing "alternative arts activities" to children for over 35 years in the 100 year old Dow School. This organization is so rich in history with the Houston community.

Image courtesy of MECA

MECA's mission is to be "a community-based nonprofit organization committed to the healthy development of under-served youth and adults through arts and cultural programming, academic excellence, support services and community building."

MECA provides after school activities for school age children and they also have a very active summer program.

Some of the classes MECA offers are the following for the summer arts program:

• Ballet Folklórico
• Guitar
• Visual Arts
• Life Skills
• Percussion
• African Drum and Dance
• Choir
• Mosaic Art
• Photography
• B.E.A.T.S. - Bringing Electronic Arts to Students
• Robotics, Electronics and Music

P&G (Procter & Gamble) has recognized the positive influence that MECA makes to the community by choosing them as one of the organizations that they will support. They have introduced their "Orgullosa Project to offer the community the opportunity to give back." MECA was one of five organizations chosen and now the community can go to the Orgullosa Facebook page to vote for them. The organizations will receive funding from P&G based on the number of votes that they receive from us.

You can follow MECA on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about the services they provide and don't forget to vote!

Disclaimer: I am a compensated endorser for the P&G Orgullosa Project.