bccch.com

Brazilian Community and Cultural Center of Hartford

A community working together to achieve the American Dream

Focused on Our Speakers

The Brazilian Community and Cultural Center of Hartford, Inc. (BCCCH) had its grand opening on September 25th, 2004 with the goal of improving the lives of the Brazilian community in the Greater Hartford area. It was located in the donated first floor storefront at 1911 Park Street in the Parkville neighborhood, Hartford, and currently is located at 164 Dockerel Road – Tolland, CT. The Center is supported by all-volunteer “staff,” BCCCH provides educational, health, social services and recreational program and activities its members.

stry pioneers, we ensure that every session inspires, educates, and sparks meaningful connections. Our commitment is to bring together expertise and passion to create experiences that attendees will never forget.

Próximo evento

Brazilian Day

Education and Training

Language is a barrier for many Brazilians who come to the area only speaking Portuguese. Through a partnership with the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Capital Community College, Goodwin College and nearby High Schools, English as a Second Language classes are provided. We have finished the first year with 36 students who completed ESL program. Over 300 students have benefited from this program and are able to engage in simple conversational English.

Also, 200 children who were born in the US or came here at early age completed the first part of the Portuguese program and are able to read and write in Portuguese. A program sponsored by the City of Hartford.

BCCCH has a small computer lab for computer classes for both adults and youth. Also, it is the first Brazilian organization that participated at the Year of Language , a program that inspires other institutions to teach a language other than English.

BCCCH supports Mayor’s Perez and Segarra’s high education initiative. The Center recycles empty cans and bottles and the money raised is saved to establish a Scholarship. We select five students and give $1,000 to each one whose grades are at the high honors level.

Health

On alternative Saturdays, Dr. Isaias Coelho, a licensed General Practice Physician and Gynecologist brings a team, including his wife (who is an American Citizen that speaks fluent Portuguese), a nurse and volunteers to provide free medical care to people who do not have any medical insurance/or for whom obtaining regular medical care is a problem due to the language barriers. Al least 20-25 people are seen every visit. As a result of this care, a case of dangerous high blood pressure was identified with immediate hospital care, intensely inflamed edema has been controlled, and a cancer diagnosis was made otherwise would not have been done.

Social Services

BCCCH believes it is important to educate its community about health, social services, and legal aspects of life in the Unites States. BCCCH provides programs to the community about employees rights, labor laws, community safety, financial advice, insurance, domestic violence, maternal and child health and others.

BCCCH is the only agency to provide translation service in the Brazilian-Portuguese community. We attend medical visits and assist members in obtaining needed services through a voluntary translation services.

Culture

The Fantasy Party, The Cowboy Party, The Traffic Light Party, Halloween, The Brazilian Independency Day and Parade Festival, The Brazilian Fashion Show, The Feijoada do Shaheen, The Brazilian Entrepreneur Awards are part of the BCCCH’s yearly calendar. These events highlight the cultural traditions of Brazil and help our community preserve its cultural heritage

Recreation

BCCCH has developed several recreation and sports activities, including Futebol (soccer – Brazil’s national passion), Capoeira, aerobics and Brazilian dances. BCCCH believes that it is important for the young children through adults to exercise to improve their health and provides a culturally competent place for these activities.

Immigration and Legal Services:

The BCCCH use to serve as a representative of the Brazilian Consulate and was the idealist to have its office opened in the State of CT. Now the Consulate employees 29 Brazilian-American Citizens and helps over 100 people daily to assist with passports and obtaining legal documents, such as birth, death and marriage certificates, visas for those who want to visit Brazil and so on.

Community Services / International Help

In addition to those services, the BCCCH maintains links to Brazil. It receives donations of clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, etc, sells them and uses the money to help the Cultural Center, many Brazilians institutions in Brazil. To date, fourteen containers with the above mentioned materials including hospital equipment have been shipped to non-for profit institutions from North to South of Brazil. There is no philanthropic tradition in Brazil and BCCCH provides an important source of assistance to the institutions such as hospitals, nurse homes, orphanages, etc that provide service to very poor people.

BCCCH has also helped the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and disasters in Pakistan, orphanages in Singapore.

Partnerships

BCCCH has established collaborative partnerships with other institutions such as YMCA, the Parkville Community School, Family Life Education, Sisters of Saint Joseph, Literacy Volunteers, Conferences of Churches, Hartford and Saint Francis Hospitals, City of Hartford, and the State of Connecticut.

The Brazilian Community and Cultural center of Hartford, Inc. is the only Brazilian organization in the United States of America that helps at both the international and National levels, offering all the services together. We are the first organization that held the Independency Day Parade outside of Brazil. We do our work for the love for our Nation and the care for our People. Moreover, we want to educate our children in a way that they grow up loving, caring and committed to the USA (a very blessing country) where they were born, as well as knowing about their heritage to build a strong identity that can help them achieve.

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