Members of the most recent leadership class and supporters from around town gathered at the Swaner EcoCenter Sunday afternoon, Sept. 29, to celebrate the launch of Colectiva, an app intended to help the Latino community connect with more events and organizations.
Class 30 member Chantal Guadarrama, who works for the Summit County Health Department, said she got the idea for the app after noticing community resources weren’t as accessible as they could be for Spanish speakers.
“The app basically is to bridge that gap, to have everything in one, in the palm of your hand,” she said.
She said the app can be used to sign up for a class, learn about upcoming events and connect with local nonprofits.
Miriam Nieto, of Holy Cross Ministries, said she sees the app as a tool to help serve her organization’s clients.
“Let’s picture someone that just arrived into the community,” she said. “They don’t speak the language, they don’t know what resources are in the community. So if they download the app… you’re going to find the Christian Center, Peace House, the health department – all the resources that can support a family just arriving and make it easier for them to navigate the system.”
Emma Zevallos, with Peace House, said the goal is to help people connect to the community across Summit and Wasatch Counties.
“We actually already have people from Wasatch who reached out that work with Latino communities, because we know how both communities are so intertwined. Someone might live in Heber but work in Summit County or Park City,” she said.
Local nonprofits can sign up online to add their events and information to the app.
The app is still a work in progress: Class 30 hopes to have it available in the app store soon. In the meantime, community members can download the app online.
Resources for organizations to spread the word about Colectiva are available by emailing colectivapc@gmail.com.
