who we are
About Us
Casa Chirilagua believes in the power of relational bridge building to holistically transform communities. Because of this, we love and serve alongside a predominantly Central American Latino community in Alexandria, Va.
We bring our community together through life-giving friendships and through our programs:
- after school programming
- mentoring
- leadership development
- parent engagement
- family strengthening
- family dinners and gatherings
- other relationship-based efforts
From the loving and watchful eye of the neighborhood “tia” (aunt) to the care and commitment of a geometry tutor who lives up the street, we all need each other for our neighborhood to truly flourish.
We honor and appreciate the value that each person’s gifts and unique qualities bring to the neighborhood, and we invite YOU to be part of this incredible work by making an investment in Casa Chirilagua today.
Casa Chirilagua is a community of people “learning together to love their neighbors as themselves” in a Latino neighborhood in Alexandria, Virginia. We are a faith-based Christian, 501(c)(3) non-profit with nine staff members and over 100 weekly volunteers who serve more than 80 children (1st-8th grades) and their families via multiple programs. Our mission is “Developing relationships with families to see the Chirilagua neighborhood transformed by Christ.” What does “Chirilagua” mean? The Arlandria/Chirilagua neighborhood is home to a sizable Latino population, mainly from Central America.
When civil war broke out in El Salvador in the 1980′s, many families immigrated to the U.S. seeking safety including a group of people from a little Salvadoran village called “Chirilagua.” As several of those individuals started their new lives in Alexandria they referred to their new home as “Little Chirilagua.” Today our neighborhood is very diverse, including a significant remnant of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and other parts of the world.
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