About Our Namesake,
Ana A. Brito
Ana America Brito was the loving wife to Francisco Brito, beloved mother, and a champion of English Literacy. Ana was born in Taguasco, Cuba on September 27 and died on June 5, 2020 in Montgomery County, Maryland.
She was a proud alumna of La Progresiva de Cardenas y Varadero and served as a math teacher in Cuba. Ana and Francisco bravely fled the Cuban Revolution in 1968 to come to the United States with their four daughters and two grandsons.
Ana instilled lessons of love of God, courage, strength, tenacity, kindness, and education in her family and in those she touched. As an educator, Ana knew that success for immigrants in this country must begin with the mastery of language, so in 1985, she founded Ayuda Especial. The program served local immigrants learning English at the Bethesda United Methodist Church and later moved to its current location at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg.
In 2012, the nearly thirty-year program was succeeded by Epworth's Ana A. Brito Foundation (AABFI), a non-profit foundation launched to continue Ana's legacy of support and commitment to the local community.
Ayuda Especial
English Classes and Homework Help for Spanish Speaking Families
Est. 1985
Founded in 1985 by Ana A. Brito at the Bethesda United Methodist Church, Ayuda Especial was a program for adult students learning English as a second language. The EUMC provides classroom space, materials and volunteers. The support of the EUMC ensures that contributions to the Foundation benefit program participants directly. Ana A. Brito has been a champion for the Hispanic community since she and her family arrived in Montgomery County from Cuba in 1968. Programs that started as small volunteer initiatives have expanded to support the growth of the immigrant communities that now reside in Gaithersburg, Maryland and surrounding areas in Montgomery County. In its current form, the program offerings accelerate the assimilation of new immigrants into the American culture.
Today
The Foundation was established as a charitable, educational outreach community organization in upper Montgomery County, Maryland. EAABF operates exclusively for tax-exempt purposes (not for profit) as set forth in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Revenue sources for the EAABF are kindly generated by the government of Montgomery County through the Montgomery Coalition For Adult English Literacy organization (MCAEL). The Foundation also receives generous donations and in kind support from the City of Gaithersburg, EUMC, and private donors.
