On Nov. 2, 2022, Perdue Farms announced that in its goals to support the Latino community, it will be awarding La Plaza Delaware with $20,000 to aid the organization and its new Latino leadership program.

La Plaza is a non-profit partnership dedicated towards providing Latinos with opportunities, business skills, and success for Latino and minority-owned businesses..

The program will accept approximately 50 Gen-Z or Millennial Latinos from Delaware with high potential, training them so that they may have the skills to act as successful leaders.

“We want to help rising leaders develop the skills necessary to promote immediate and sustainable results for themselves and the organizations they serve,” said Mary Dupont, La Plaza Delaware executive director, at a press conference Nov. 2 at Perdue Farms Milford location.

The Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement (HACE) has developed a nationally recognized curriculum that La Plaza will use to train its program members.

The curriculum will take place over three months, featuring programming content, networking opportunities, and a collaborative group project.

“We are so grateful for an opportunity to invest in a leadership training program for the Latino population, specifically, and partner with such wonderful organizations such as La Plaza Delaware,” said Gary Miller, Vice President of Human Resources and Interim Chief Diversity Officer, for Perdue Farms.

Their new leadership program will work in partnership with Nuestras Raices, a Wilmington based cultural non-profit, and the Delaware Hispanic Commission, a funder of the program.

“I am thrilled over the moon with the partnerships that we have here. This will make a difference in the lives of individuals who will go through the program . . . and to the state. We need to have true representation not only in [the] workforce but in all leadership opportunities in our communities,” said Delaware Lt. Governor Bethany Hall Long at the press conference

The money awarded will be granted through the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, Perdue Farms’ charity foundation that supports non-profits as they improve communities through their Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors program.

Perdue Farms will additionally support HACE in southern Delaware, supporting their goals in professional leadership development, training workshops, and mentoring/leadership training for Latinos.