Latinos of Tomorrow: Reaching Out to Latino Youth in Kansas City Urban Core
Mario Eraso and LOT members, Kansas City Hispanic Collaborative and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City

The Latinos of Tomorrow is the year-round youth initiative program of the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Collaborative, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, and sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Kansas City. Crystal Perez, a Wyandotte High School student, developed the Latinos of Tomorrow as her BizFest Workshop project in 2004.
The mission of the Latinos of Tomorrow is to provide leadership learning opportunities in education advancement, career development and civic involvement through programs or projects. Latinos of Tomorrow is free and open to any high school or college student from the Kansas City metro area. Two major learning objectives of the group are peer-to-peer and adult-to-student mentoring and advising. The learning opportunities are created under one of the five committees of the organization.
16The Kansas City community and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce provide support for Latinos of Tomorrow’s students, including mentors, programmers, financial supporters and advisors. The Latinos of Tomorrow’s leadership team is made up of a senior adult advisor and two student officers who oversee and coordinate its committees. Each committee is co-chaired by an adult mentor and a student who recruit members and set their objectives. All members of the leadership council must serve on the leadership council; be an active organizational participant; pledge to the organizational code of conduct; attend 75 percent of leadership council meetings; must be able to attend and participate at scheduled LOTS events, programs, and seminars; and volunteer, participate and attend activities sponsored or hosted by the Greater Kansas City Hispanic collaborative and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The current committees are: BizFest Workshops, Fiesta, Fundraising and Scholarships, Education Programming and “El Congreso” Committee. Meetings are held twice a month on the first and third Saturdays at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offices. Latinos of Tomorrow’s office is located at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of greater Kansas City and is staffed on Fridays. In our presentation, we will overview our programs and discuss a particular event organized by the students under the scholarship committee.