Preferred Citation

Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce records, 1992-2006, Collection # M 567, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Virginia Hispanic Chamber and Foundation, November 2005 and February 2006.

Biographical / Historical Information

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber and Foundation (VAHCC), previously named Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was established in 2000 by Michel and Lisa Zajur. The roots of the VAHCC, however, go back to 1972 when Michel Zajur opened up one of the first Mexican restaurants in the Greater Richmond Area's Southside. The restaurant, La Siesta, grew to be seen as an information resource in the community, as well as a gathering area for Latinos to discuss issues around language barriers, employment, education, and community involvement.

Since its founding, the mission of VAHCC is centered around building economic bridges between Hispanic and Latino businesses and local communities, and to promote business and employment opportunities for community members and partners. Through partnerships with local, state, and regional organizations and governments, VAHCC aims to increase the economic and social wellbeing of Latino communities throughout Virginia.

VAHCC is involved with over 150 events annually centered around supporting and promoting Hispanic and Latino businesses. The chamber hosts job fairs; offers training courses; and provides support for Hispanic and Latino community members on entering the workforce and submitting government bids and contracts. Since 2020, VAHCC has introduced new projects to better support communities, including creating student membership opportunities and a directory of local Hispanic and Latino businesses to new families moving to Virginia.

Scope and Contents

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber and Foundation (VAHCC) records include Spanish language and Latino audience local or regional publications, such as magazines and newspapers; pamhplets and brochures on family emergency preparedness, worker rights and job seeker resources, local services provided in Spanish, and more; information and resources on adult continuing education, employment (includes items from Virginia Employment Commission and correspondence and job postings shared with VAHCC to distrbute throughout the community), and healthcare; printouts of VAHCC PowerPoint sides; cultural education for teachers, and a social events calendar for 2006.

Collection represents materials and resources that would have been shared with members of the community and documents concerns and services provided by VAHCC. However, the collection lacks administrative materials such as meeting minutes, information on VAHCC events, annual reports, and correspondence (beyond requests to share job openings with community members).

More information on issues and runs of magazines and newspapers are included in folder scope and content notes.

Arrangement

Collection materials were unfoldered upon arrival and were grouped based on subject and/or format. Folders are arranged chronologically by date of the earliest item in the folder.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Latino communities -- Periodicals -- Virginia
• Latino communities -- Services for -- Virginia
• Latino communities -- Virginia -- Richmond