WESTFIELD – When speaking with Will Rodriguez on the phone, you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice when the topic of conversation turns to the organization he has devoted so much of his life to.
The President of the Westfield Spanish American Association, Rodriguez has seen the WSAA grow from only 15 members to around 50 in its two decades in the Whip City and he is proud of all the WSAA has done to help the city’s small, vibrant Hispanic community.
Recently the organization celebrated national Hispanic Heritage Month by moving into new offices on 52 Court Street and hosted an open house to ring in a new era in their history.
“I love it, I love it. It’s all about location,” said Rodriguez of the WSAA’s new digs across from City Hall. “We’ll be raising the Puerto Rican flag on November 16 and we’re going to have a big event going on at the YMCA afterwards.”
Besides promoting Latino culture in the city, the organization is active in supporting the Hispanic youth and elderly residents of Westfield.
“We’ve raised over $55,000 now, through successful golf tournaments every July that have also been going on for 20 years,” said Rodriguez, adding that next year’s tournament will be followed by a gala in the evening.
“We don’t have a big Hispanic community, but the community in Westfield is diverse,” he said. “We get along quite well and a lot of us like to keep our culture and educate and learn from our cultures.”
Rodriguez stated that aiding both kids and recent immigrants to the city is a priority for the WSAA.
“A lot of people who come from outside of the community, they don’t know where to go for any type of services and that’s where we want to be useful,” he said. “We also have our emphasis on Latino youths, as we’ve given college students money but we also want to give money to non-college students who want to get a trade or a vocation.”
“One of our major campaigns is to recruit young people to come in and help us out,” Rodriguez added before referencing a recent hip-hop concert at St. Mary’s that the WSAA supported. “We’re trying to let people know we’re here for you and that we’d like your help also.”
Providing a bridge between generations and instilling a sense of pride is central to the group’s mission.
“And as college students graduate, we’re saying to them ‘come on back, join our membership and pass this down to the next generation,'” Rodriguez said.
