Forward Janesville to launch Latinx Outreach Program with PremierBank 

According to a recent press release, Forward Janesville will officially launch a new Latinx Outreach Program, Adelante Janesville. The event will take place on July 13 from 5–7 p.m. at Business After Five, hosted by PremierBank at the bank’s Janesville location at 1400 Black Bridge Road.

A brief program is planned at 6 p.m. to officially announce the Latinx Outreach Program and recognize some of its key stakeholders.

In the fall of 2022, Forward Janesville contracted with bilingual consultant Claire Olsen to identify existing business and community support initiatives for the Latinx community and to gain a better understanding of their business and community needs.

Silvia Donde-Selensky was asked to join the newly created Latinx Council. Donde-Selensky has worked in financial services as a bilingual banker while volunteering to teach those with limited English proficiency about a variety of financial literacy topics — including budgeting, how to secure credit, and steps to saving — in their native language.

To meet the swift growth of the local Latinx community that is reshaping the Wisconsin region PremierBank serves, the bank has worked to provide financial resources to the local Spanish-speaking community.

Donde-Selensky hosted the first council meeting in May at the Forward Janesville office, where members agreed to focus on building business resources and a stronger sense of community for Latinx businesses.

The Council meets quarterly and is supported by Forward Janesville and Claire Olsen. In July, Forward Janesville will launch its Resource Desk with bilingual services of English/Spanish. It has also begun translation of core documents in Spanish and will begin more intense outreach.