Meet Catrina DaCosta McAfee | Executive Director of LaAmistad

We had the good fortune of connecting with Catrina DaCosta McAfee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Catrina, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The desire in each individual to want to make our world a better place. When anyone pauses and asks themselves, “What can I do to create long-lasting and immediate positive impact in my community?” The answer to that question is finding a way to selflessly give back. Whether that is through volunteering your time or making a donation to a nonprofit, your action cascades and grows beyond the individual and positively transforms our community for the better. There’s no better way for us to create quick and lasting change than through education.

Support from the broader Atlanta community and individuals drives the gears at LaAmistad. People tend to think just because we are tied to public schools or community centers that we must be a government program, we’re not. We are completely funded by the love of our volunteers, donors, and sponsors.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
“Hey, you want to teach rollerskating at our after school program?” That was the first thing Bill Maness had asked me when I began my journey with LaAmistad. Back then it wasn’t even called LaAmistad yet and I was only the lead guitar and vocals in a rock band. A lot has changed over the past 20 years, but if there’s anything I have learned from this all, is that one person really can make a difference. Through Mr. Maness believing in me, I rose to the occasion of helping my peers in our community. If there is anything I have learned, it is to never underestimate the ability of one individual to make a positive and lasting impact. I see it every day through our selfless volunteers that know, when the lightbulb goes on in a students mind, or a smile forms on the face of our students, they know, they’ve made a positive difference in the life of that student.

The core values of LaAmistad are kindness, excellence, passion, team work, and perseverance. Kindness because we must have the ability to speak with love, listen with patience, and act with compassion. Excellence because we must always strive for it, every touch, every time, no exceptions. Passion because nobody can fake passion. Team work because alone we can do little, but together we can do so much. Perseverance because when things get tough, we need the grit and determination to keep going.

LaAmistad is an organization that serves the Latinx community and their families through a comprehensive approach. Beyond just educating younger students with math and reading, we offer classes for their parents to learn English to become stronger in their careers. When school is out for the summer, we continue to enrich our students through our Anímate Academy to close the learning loss over this period. When we were unable to meet our students face-to-face due to COVID, we were dropping off hot meals to their homes. We are dedicated to the success of our students no matter what, LaAmistad is a family.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting, I would absolutely encourage them to volunteer with LaAmistad. With 12 locations located across the city, as well as online tutoring, it’s easy to find a way to brighten the day of a student anywhere in the Atlanta area. It could be by being a surprise Mystery Reader for one of our groups of younger students, or it could be by being a one-on-one tutor helping one of our students polish up their reading comprehension. The best part, you’ll meet other great volunteers and staff along the way from all walks of life, young or old, professional or student, tall or short. Being surrounded by smiling students and making a lasting positive impact is something not easy to find, but it happens every day at LaAmistad.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To everyone that has engaged with LaAmistad over the past 20 years. When LaAmistad began it was just Bill Maness starting a small after school group at Peachtree Presbyterian Church to help out a few community families. Now it serves hundreds of families over 13 locations across the Atlanta metro and online. Without the support of all of our volunteers, interns, donors, and staff, we could have never made it to become who we are today.

Website: www.laamistadinc.org

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laamistad.atlanta