About Us
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The Parents of Latin American Children is a 501C3 non-profit organization that sponsors such activities such as La Semana Culture Camp, Corazon Latino dance troupe, and Los Alumnos alumni group, as well as other activities and fundraising events.
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The Parents of Latin American Children exists to enhance knowledge and pride in the cultural heritage of our adopted Latin American Children.
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In 1977, a group of mothers gathered and formed an adoptive support group called the Colombian Mothers Club. Soon after, mothers and fathers with children adopted from other countries started attending, and therefore the name was changed to Parents of Latin American Children, or “PLAC” for short.
Early PLAC members met every month at various homes of members, offices, churches, and even moved into parking lots once the church had shut its doors for the night. The first PLAC events included fashion shows to raise money for orphanages in South America, Christmas parties, picnics, dinners, and a dance troupe eventually known as “Corazón Latino”.
Eventually, the idea of a culture camp came to life as a way to help adopted children own their Latin heritage. As most PLAC parents came from Scandinavian and German backgrounds typical to many Minnesota residents, it was an opportunity to connect adoptees with other members of the Latine community to teach them what their parents could not.
From then on, many avenues were explored, as members reached out to everyone from the Science Museum of Minnesota to the Colombian Consul to plan programming for a week-long culture camp. After constantly referring to the project as ‘the week’ of camp, one member suggested calling it “La Semana”, and it stuck.
The first La Semana was held in 1982 at the Science Museum of Minnesota. In 1984, PLAC eventually decided it was important to address adoption issues as part of the programming, which forced them to break away from the Science Museum and take on the camp themselves. Knowing they would be taking on an enormous project, they reluctantly operated with an “any fool can do this” mindset which was repeated many times over the years.
“We all somewhat reluctantly agreed that foolish or not, we would jump in and attempt to do this by ourselves in our own way. The ‘any fool can do this’ line got a lot of mileage over the years and I’m sure it’s still an undercurrent for anyone who agrees to take on La Semana. It takes intelligence, courage, fortitude, and a measure of foolishness to make it work.”
- Jeaneen Wilhelmi, founding member of La Semana
In early years, all members dedicated time to roles and projects needed to support PLAC, La Semana, and Corazón Latino. As time went on and programs developed, roles became more defined and the increasing number of volunteers rose to the occasion, allowing for the volunteer-run operation still in place today.
As programs flourished and children grew, mothers continued to gather the community, calling themselves “the llama mamas”.
“We would not be who we are today if not for all those yesterday’s together.”
-Jeaneen Wilhelmi, founding member of La Semana
With the exception of 2020, La Semana was held every year from 1982-2023 and was made possible by hundreds of volunteers, campers, ayudantes, and parents.
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While PLAC and its programs have looked different throughout the years, our vision continues to be to find ways to connect and grow our community. We aim to grow our online presence, hold virtual events, small local in-person events throughout the year, and continue to plan summer gatherings.
If you are interested in helping to grow our vision, click below.
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President: Gabriella Wenisch
Treasurer: Erica Gossard
Secretary: Mari Creque
Advisor: Betty Stulberg
