What’s Latina Impact? Latina Impact is part of the LAWC – MHA/NC community support programs for young teens in North Carolina. Coral Rodriguez, Latina Impact President once said “Serves to learn, educate, and provide a better understanding of our cultures, leadership, and the surrounding world” A focus group coordinated by Romaine Riddle, MHA/NC Director of Community Outreach & Education, conducted with 8 young Latino teens in 2009, showed the need  to develop a program, in which will take in consideration the needs of second and third generations of children of Latin American Families in North Carolina. The focus group participants expressed that the best way for any institution to communicate with them, was through the internet, telephone and TV. Taking in consideration this information Mrs. Nora L. Hernández, MHA/NC Program Coordinator and LAWC Founder, introduce Latina Impact to LAWC Board of Directors and MHA/NC Program Educational Director. Since 2006 Coral Rodriguez has been MHA/NC – LAWC volunteers as office aid, at the annual fashion show, The Latin American Women’s Club and The annual Conference. Immediately she loved the idea of Latina Impact. She requested the support of the LAWC Board of Directors by, helping their own daughters to attend to a planning meeting to create the mission and vision of Latina Impact. Months later Coral Rodriguez, presented the idea of a mental health campaign to MHA/NC outreach coordinator and Director of Community Outreach & Education, taking in consideration the focus group results. She introduced: Latina Impact Cover Girl Mental Health Campaign; 12 Girls, 12 Months and 12 inspirational stories to promote mental health as a healthy life style. She said in her presentation: “Statics shows that young boys and girls have no idea of what’s going on with their body and have hardly any idea on what's going on with their mind. I want to show the girls and boys from my community that speaking about mental health is important. Latina Impact is a Mental Health campaign to educate all young teens in our community, that we as Latinos can impact someone's life by our message and personal experience on life”. In January 2010 Latina Impact Cover Girl Mental Health Campaign was launch through YouTube, LAWC website and MHA/NC Website. The LAWC – MHA/NC is looking forward to work with a second group in 2011.

Who’s Coral Rodriguez? Coral Rodriguez is an AB Honor Student at Early Wake College of Health and Science, where she served as Women’s Leadership, President in 2009. She was recipient of the Latin American Women’s Excellence Award “Juventud Latina” in 2006, for promoting education as a way to reach goals in life, speaks Spanish, and been proud of her Latin heritage. Actually she serves as Latina Impact President. As part of her leadership for this group, she is leading the Latina Impact Mental Health Campaign for young Latinas in NC, under the supervision Mrs. Nora L. Hernandez, Outreach Coordinator for the Mental Health Association in NC and Founder and President of the Latin American Women’s Consortium. Her public appearance as speaker for different organizations, has made possible for her to become one of the youngest motivational speakers in NC. She received professional training at John Casablancas Modeling Agency, as professional model and personal development. Miss. Rodriguez is also student of the NC Theater, where she trained her voice as Soprano under the leadership fo Mrs. Monique Ganon. She has performed at the Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and Peace College as a singer, actor and dancer. As a hobby she enjoys taking pictures. She already presented her first collection in 2009 as part the Art By Us/ Latin American Painters in NC.