Latino Civil Rights Group Collaborates With DoorDash to Provide Training, Grants to Latino Workforce

DoorDash, the largest food delivery company in the U.S., announced a partnership with Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, UnidosUS.

The joint project - dubbed Caminos, Spanish for "paths" - will provide a financial empowerment program, grants to broaden food access, support for civic engagement programs, and immigration education for the industry's largely-Latino workforce, The Hill reported.

These issues directly impact the Hispanic and Latino communities nationwide, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Katherine Rodriguez, senior manager of Federal Public Engagement at DoorDash, the company's mission to empower local economies animates everything they do to support Dashers, communities, and merchants.

The food delivery firm said they would support the Hispanic and Latino communities by providing restaurateurs grants and training through its Main Street Strong Accelerator, a seven-course curriculum that provides restaurant owners with immersive education to help their businesses.

DoorDash will also translate its Restaurant University series into Spanish and make other materials for capacity-building available.

UnidosUS and DoorDash will invest $1.1 million to train employees in 10 cities, including Houston, Miami, Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco.

UnidosUS, DoorDash Collab Provides Latino Workers With 21st-Century Job Skills

Janet Murguía, UnidosUS president and CEO, believes that everyone "deserves an opportunity to succeed at their workplace."

That is why Murguía, together with UnidosUS, is thrilled about the new DoorDash collaboration, which will provide Latino workers with the skills they need "to succeed in the jobs of the 21st century."

"Thanks to DoorDash's major new support, we can put even more people, families, and communities on the path to greater financial stability and prosperity," the UnidosUS president said.

Because of the structural and institutional racism that precedes the economic crisis, Black and Latino Americans have been affected the hardest.

Nine months after the labor market bottomed out, Black and Hispanic or Latino Americans still accounted for the greater share of job losses, with unemployment rates of 9.2 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, compared to 5.7 percent for whites, according to the January 2021 Employment Situation Summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Latino-Owned Businesses Tend to Remain Small Due to Variety of Issues

Historically, Hispanic and Latino communities have lacked financial and entrepreneurial know-how, despite having higher levels of entrepreneurship than the general population.

According to Stanford University research on Latino enterprises, one out of every four new businesses is currently Latino-owned. However, Hispanics make up just under one-fifth of the country's population.

Despite this, the same study discovered that Latino-owned micro-businesses are more likely to remain small due to a range of factors, such as limited access to capital and increased personal financial risk.

According to Rodriguez, DoorDash is committed to assisting marginalized communities through earning opportunities and initiatives like Caminos.

Both UnidosUS and DoorDash previously had food insecurity and nutrition programs, called Comprando Rico y Sano and Project DASH, respectively. The company said these programs would be incorporated into the new joint project.

Rodriguez noted that the UnidosUS, a leader in the Hispanic community on issues ranging from health and education to immigration, "has made a positive difference in the lives of many and DoorDash is honored to partner with UnidosUS to continue that work."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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