Our Mission: To promote full Hispanic participation in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region, by informing, educating and advocating for the Latin American community.

Our Vision: To help build a diverse and vibrant Charlotte-Mecklenburg community which embraces, supports and respects people of all cultures and backgrounds.

History: 17 years after its inception, The Latin American Coalition is Charlotte’s oldest and largest Hispanic service agency. In 1990 Rev. Salvador Negrin and 35 others, recognizing the growing needs of the Latino community, founded and incorporated the Latin American Coalition. Within the next year the organization joined forces with United Way’s Hispanic Information and Referral Program and organized the first annual Latin American Festival, striking a balance of cultural programming and social service initiatives.

Over the next 10 years the Latin American Coalition expanded its services to include a Job Bank, Hispanic Health Fairs, Citizenship Classes, Cross-cultural trainings, ESL training, the Mentor-Tutor Program and cultural celebrations called Tertulias, all while growing the Information & Referral program and Latin American Festival.

Since 2000, the Latin American Coalition’s services have increased, improved and diversified. Our programs have flourished and the numbers of clients we serve have skyrocketed to more than 12,000 individuals every year. As we celebrate 17 years of service to the Charlotte community, we remain committed to the spirit of community service and cultural celebration on which we were founded and look forward to further removing the obstacles Latino families face to reaching their full potential.