SHARE’s LatinaSHARE Outreach Ambassadors reach 30,000 people each year in their own communities with life-saving information in Spanish about signs, symptoms, risk factors, screening and treatment options. In neighborhoods throughout New York City, women and families are able to learn about breast, metastatic breast, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer - at health fairs, churches, food pantries, senior centers, consulates, and schools.
To catch up on their exciting accomplishments, we sat down with Lucero Andujar, LatinaSHARE's Outreach Manager, to discuss what they've been up to and how it's helping our goal of reaching and empowering women to take charge of their health.
Lucero Andujar has a BA in Family Psychology from Syracuse University, and a Masters in Public Administration with a focus on nonprofits. After college, she moved back home to Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Maria hit. The experience galvanized her interest in nonprofit work when she became involved in disaster relief, first through developing a disaster-related curriculum for students, and then helping build a program that provided assistance to 10,000 people in accessing Federal grants.
Lucero also had the amazing opportunity to do a research program with Johns Hopkins University focused on young women’s reproductive rights in South Africa, where she spent a year living in Durban and helped launch a public health campaign.
She was excited to join SHARE’s staff in 2022 and focus on improving disparities in the Latina community.
Tell us a little about yourself. What's your name, your role at SHARE, and a fun fact about yourself?
Lucero and her dog, Zeena
My name is Lucero Andújar Iglesias and I’m the LatinaSHARE Outreach Manager. My role is to create sustainable relationships with other organizations to make sure our Outreach Ambassadors are reaching as many Latinas as possible in neighborhoods throughout NYC. While our Ambassadors act as our “boots on the ground,” going into their local communities and sharing important information, I’m helping create partnerships to make that possible. I’ve also helped create new outreach resources, like the Free Mammogram Finder, that has a QR code linking to an interactive map of NYC that shows where women can go for free screening in every neighborhood.
A fun fact about myself is that I have a dog, Zeena, who has her own Instagram account, @thewhitegoldendoodle.
What types of events does SHARE normally participate in each year?
This year, LatinaSHARE has been a part of over 310 outreach events. This includes health fairs, food pantries, presentations for senior centers, parent-teacher associations and community organizations, and outreach at community health sites and numerous Latin American consulates. As the LatinaSHARE Outreach Manager, I am responsible for coordinating and managing our participation in events and activities at these partner sites. We try to make sure that we are reaching people wherever they are in their own community.
Why is it important for SHARE to be present at these types of events, as well as other outreach opportunities?
Informing people of the signs and symptoms, debunking cancer myths and providing access to free resources saves lives. When we go to events, we’re sharing vital information with the people who need it most and, in turn, we can continue to grow a community of informed individuals.
SHARE and its mission are also personal for me - my grandmother had breast cancer, and my mother had uterine cancer. The work we do touches my heart, and creates connections that last forever.
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