AHU' History

In the spring of 2002, there was a fire in Lexington where 24 Hispanic people lost their homes, so AHU raised money to help these families.  In May, Partners for Youth, an organization created by Mayor Pam Miller, helped AHU fund the first Biblioteca Hispana.  The library opened July 11 at the Cardinal Valley Center.  Under the next mayor, Theresa Isaac, the grant for the Biblioteca Hispana was continued.

In 2003, the Hispanic population became the largest minority group in the nation, with an estimated 37 million Hispanics living in the United States.  In February, there was a terrible ice storm that left thousands of individuals without electricity unable to leave their homes.  This was the first wakeup call to the local government of how ill prepared they were to help the immigrant population during a time of crisis.  The main organizations that helped the Hispanic community during this situation were AHU and the Cardinal Valley Center. 

In the summer, Mayor Theresa Isaac implemented another task force to again address the needs of the Hispanic population.  In July, the Biblioteca Hispana celebrated its first anniversary.  It was a very gratifying first year because of the overwhelming positive response that AHU received from the entire community in terms of donations in the form of money, books, furniture, etc.  The Biblioteca Hispana offered not only the services of a traditional library,

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