Education Based Latino Outreach EBLO (501c3 Non-Profit)was founded in 1980 by a group of like minded Latino residents from East Baltimore under the direction of José O. Ruiz, a community activist and at that time, new to Baltimore. José, a Nuyorican (Puerto Rican from NYC) was dismayed by the tremendous lack of services available to Latinos in Baltimore.José was most especially concerned that the educational needs of the Spanish speaking children living in the O’Donnell Heights Housing Project were not properly addressed by the Baltimore City Public School System. A series of meetings were held where it was decided that the East Baltimore Latino Organization should be formed with the purpose of assisting Latino children with the basics of Reading, Writing, and Math. First called “Saturday School”, the children met in the Enoch Pratt Free Library in O’Donnell Heights for a few hours each Saturday morning with volunteers from the community and college students who provided one to one tutoring. Many of these children were newly arrived in Baltimore. Their parents faced discrimination in housing and employment.In many instances, these parents were unable to assist the children with their school work. Additionally, the parents had very little knowledge of how the school system worked and what services their children were entitled to. Many children were truly not literate in either English or Spanish. At times, parents had to rely on their own children to translate for them at school meetings. When report cards were sent home the parents were often unable to fully understand what progress their children had made or if they needed assistance. The initiation of English for Speakers of Other Languages ESOL was in its infancy and many children simply were taught in English with no attempt to help them truly acquire their new language. EBLO members were motivated to help by their own experiences of being punished for speaking Spanish in school. This language barrier coupled with the parents’ lack of understanding of the rights of their children to educational services were the two most important issues that EBLO addressed in those early years. Through advocacy and self-help workshops parents were given tools and information that they could use to help their children navigate the difficult waters of the school system. The practice of providing transportation was one of the early trademarks of Saturday School as it was the children who most needed the services who were unable to come on their own. Many mornings began with our volunteers knocking on doors in East Baltimore finding that the children were not quite “ready” and then proceeding to assist with finding shoes, coats and homework papers before ushering them onto the bus. EBLO was slowly but surely growing; moving to a church basement on South Potomac Street with support from the Episcopal Diocese of Baltimore. The basement flooded often and it required tremendous persistence on the part of our teachers and volunteers to keep focused on the children’s needs and overlook the challenges of our site.
Throughout the early years, José’s commitment to the community and love of Latin music and culture compelled him to share that passion with others. He demonstrated his talent as an organizer and he worked tirelessly to improve the services for Latinos. He became a consummate fund-raiser for EBLO. He was able to secure donations from local businesses and individuals.He set his sights on holding a street fair that would showcase Latin music and food. “Latino Festival” was first held in June of 1980, in Fells Point, to raise money for books and supplies for Saturday School and to celebrate Latino culture. The tradition of street fairs was one that was already well known in Baltimore and "LatinoFest", as it was later named, quickly became known as one of the best places to hear Latin music and eat great Latino food.
The Hispanic community of Baltimore grew steadily as did the need for educational services. In the late 1980’s, it was decided to change the name to Education Based Latino Outreach as the scope of services had expanded beyond East Baltimore and the name EBLO was already widely known as a provider of quality education programs, namely “Saturday School.” EBLO expanded its services to include English Classes for the parents and cultural programs that taught dance, art and music for the entire family. After School Programs in partnership with the Baltimore City Public Schools BCPS, the Digital Village Hub, Spanish classes are just a few of the additional programs EBLO offers as the educational needs and aspirations of the Hispanic community continue to expand.
EBLO has grown consistently with fund raising events like: Cinco de Mayo on Broadway, LatinoFest on Patterson Park, LatinoFest Baltimore County, and La Plaza Hispana at the Fell Point Fun Festival. All funds raised are used to support programs like the School Supply Program, The Three Kings Day Celebration, and all the other programs that are offered free to the participants.
The almost endless stream of volunteers who have assisted with projects and events over the years and the 100’s of children who have attended EBLO’s educational programs have made EBLO clearly one of the most influential Latino organizations in the region.
Our mission to improve the lives of Hispanic children and families through education and cultural activities remains strong today.The EBLO Board of Directors is dedicated to maintaining programs that support this underlying principle. After 30 years of educational advocacy, cultural presentations and educational program development, EBLO is now a Baltimore institution with a clear path to continued growth. Always striving to improve the services and educational opportunities for Hispanics, EBLO looks forward to another 30 years with vigor, clear vision and enthusiasm knowing that the work we do is honorable, necessary and invaluable to the children and families we serve.
Jose Ruiz Community Center 606 South Ann Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21231 Telephone: (410) 563-3160, Fax: (410) 563-0097 Copyright 1980-2010 by EBLO.ORG
