Where Little Explorers Shine Together

History

Resplandor Co-op LLC. It emerged as the fruit of the first Cooperative Institute of the Cooperative Center for Development and Solidarity (CCDS), an initiative founded by Liliana Avendano in June 2016 in East Boston, Massachusetts. Liliana, a visionary and co-founder of both CCDS and Resplandor, sowed the seed of cooperation and early education, giving rise to a project that would become a benchmark in the community.

Liliana’s vision transcended conventional limits. Inspired by her commitment to early education and cooperation, she proposed the creation of a bilingual cooperative center for children from 0 to 5 years old, with the vision of extending it through university education. In this mission, five women, including Catalina Rojas, joined Liliana from the project’s first steps, with Catalina and Liliana being the only ones who remained firm from the beginning.

Recognizing the project’s magnitude, Liliana began classes at Urban College in September 2017, earning her associate in early education in 2020. Her decision not only strengthened her capacity but also inspired other women in the immigrant community, including Elisabeth Velasquez, Carmen Idarraga, Irma Lemus, Diana Ruiz, Deniz Bozon, Gisselle Osorio, to follow in their footsteps and see in Resplandor the opportunity to make their dreams of educating and caring for children from love come true.

Throughout these seven years, more than 40 women participated in developing the project, receiving training in early education and cooperativism. Most of them saw the process as long. They decided to do the work independently, this being one of the significant challenges. . but only eight agreed to give themselves completely to be part of what is now Resplendor. The essence of Resplandor lies in the creation of a unique cooperative curriculum, where each member, trained in collaborative, not only teaches the children but also their families and the community cooperative values and principles. Each member, as owner, plays a crucial role in building an educational environment based on collaboration and solidarity, providing a comprehensive education that transcends the classroom and extends to the surrounding community, thus contributing to the solidarity economy.

In December 2022, Resplandor Co-op LLC. took a significant step by becoming independent from the CCDS environment and in March 2023, it was legally registered with its eight female owners who had been working on their professional development and obtaining the national certification for teachers (CDA), further consolidating their commitment to education early and cooperation. In this way, they created a space where teaching and cooperative values intertwine to inspire and transform not only children but also their families and the community at large.

Many organizations and people have joined this story that have directly and indirectly supported the process, both in fundraising through childcare at events, and in the development of the project with technical assistance, among these organizations are: Union Capital Boston, East Boston Neighborhood Center, Third Sector New England – TSNE, Chamber of Cooperatives, JP Housing Cooperative, Green Roots, United for a Fair Economy-UFE, Annual grantees’ gathering of Haymarket People’s, Fund, Hyams Foundation, ECM, Recist, etc., City of Boston, Archipelago Strategies Group, Union Capital Boston, Nube, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center-EBNHC, Suffolk University, Cooperative Fund Of The Northeast-CFNE, Lynnway Associates Group in the search for space, AIN Tax & Consulting, Lina Bernal in the development of our logo and advertising, Owen Berson, Sara Stockdale and even our families who supported us in multiple ways, including having to endure many absences from us to be able to face the responsibility of creating a collective dream, but one that we know will positively impact our lives and our families and community.

In January 2023, Resplandor Co-op LLC. He participated in the application of the city of Boston for the Space Grant award, and on July 26 of the same year, he was officially awarded said award with the purpose of opening and beginning the provision of services. We know that these are just a few lines of the great adventure that it has meant for us to believe, creating.