U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) recently announced the closing of his fall Abuelitas program, a program that helped connect over 160 relatives of Mexican descent with their families in Illinois throughout September and October.
The program began with a soccer tournament, "La Copa Senado," that was held on Aug. 22 for several Mexican social clubs throughout Illinois. La Luz from the Michoacan social club was the winning team.
Illinois is a home to over 1.5 million citizens of Mexican descent. Since the inception of the program, Abuelitas has helped reunite roughly 2,700 people. Kirk has committed himself to working with local Mexican Social Clubs such as the La Luz, Tonatico, El Cuitzillo and San Jose Social Clubs. Kirk is expanding Abuelitas to Rockford, Joliet and Southern Illinois.
"This fall, we celebrated the rich culture of Mexico and all of the families that have been reunited through Abuelitas," Kirk said. "I will continue to work with social clubs across Illinois to further develop programs with the Mexican-American community so that we can bring more families together."
The next Abuelitas program is scheduled to take place in December.
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