Self Reliance Foundation

SRF implements communications campaigns and educational outreach activities that address a variety of subjects, including but not limited to the following arenas:

Environment: SRF is currently working with the Department of Energy to implement The Environmental Hispanic Community Participation Project (El Proyecto Hispano Participativo del Medioambiente). This campaign illustrates everyday ways of participating in the environmental movement, including energy efficiency, addressing environmental racism and Superfunds, and features Spanish-speaking DOE employees as role models in an educational media initiative to inspire and engage US Hispanics in science and math career opportunities.

Gang prevention: In 2005, SRF launched the National Hispanic Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Project. Also known as the 2Cooltura project, the National Hispanic Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Project seeks to abate the involvement of Hispanic youth in gangs by connecting families with after-school and other resources. The project was implemented with the support of the Department of Justice, and also received donated promotional efforts from award-winning Telemundo broadcaster Pedro Sevsec and the La Secta All-Stars rock en español band.

Informal Science Education: SRF implements ConCiencia (With Con(science), a multi-media Spanish-language science newswire service, and Celebra La Ciencia, which seeks to increase Hispanic participation in science and health education programs. This consists of increasing access to informal science programs, attending hands-on family science activities and demonstrations at local festivals, and providing information about career opportunities in science, technology, and biomedical research. ConCiencia is supported by a multi-year grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), and Celebra La Ciencia is supported through a multi-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF.)

Internet safety education: Starting in 2008, SRF will implement a Spanish-language branch of the Department of Justice?s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) program. Together, SRF and PSC will seek to collaborate with and mobilize Spanish-speaking parents ? a high percentage of whom are unaware of predatory practices on the Internet ? to protect their children from online exploitation and guide them to safe and productive uses of the Internet and wireless communications devices.

Cultural tourism: Starting in 2008, SRF will begin planning work on the Escucha La Belleza Spanish-language narrative radio project broadcast on the California AM spectrum. This project will provide listeners with educational and historical information about Big Sur and the California Central Coast to be enjoyed as long-format audio material.

The Self Reliance Foundation?s Acceso Hispano program work is sustained and complimented by its Acceso Hispano Línea de Ayuda, the only bilingual, multi-need
1-800 number Information and Referral (I&R) service that operates on a nationwide level. This toll-free Helpline is supported by a customized, web-based database of over 12,000 community-based organizations providing a variety of free or low-cost services in every region of the country. This work underscores SRF?s overarching goal of using media messaging to connect government and non-profit services with a broader public.

To promote its programs and the 1-800 Information and Referral number, SRF partners with its sister company Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) reaches 90% of the U.S. Hispanic market and has a listening base of over 8.5 million listeners per week.