Please check out the latest issue of the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s Vecinos Unidos® Newsletter to learn more about the important gains and accomplishments that DHF Vecinos made this year. Big thanks to all of the esteemed volunteers and generous community members who make this work possible!
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Letter from the Executive Director
The San Joaquin Valley has seen many injustices within the past few years, which is why we continue to mobilize and empower communities with COVD-19 resources and services, health equity education, and tools to combat systemic racism. Through it all, we triumph working with community members like you. Throughout the last year, we continued to fight against COVID-19 and together with our partners we have provided direct assistance to our communities and administered over 7,000 vaccinations. The effort against COVID-19 continues and we ask that if you or someone you know needs assistance in finding a vaccination site or registering for an appointment, please call us at: 661-383-2588.
As we look forward to the coming months and all the work that is yet to be done, we are strengthened by the knowledge that together we’ll continue to make important changes in our communities. We look forward to organizing alongside you for the upcoming elections on Tuesday, June 7th (primary election) and Tuesday, November 8, 2022 (general election). Holding elected officials accountable is our right and responsibility. If you are eligible to vote, please make sure to register and visit www.sos.ca.gov to update your information and learn more about how you can get involved. Even if you can’t vote, you can help educate voters in your neighborhood.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you. Our solidarity is our strength. Si Se Puede!
Vecinos Unidos Bakersfield Chapter invites you to support their community-led map for the Bakersfield City School District redistricting process. The map was developed in partnership with experienced demographer Jesus Garcia and is based on fair lines that consider equity indicators like: Voting Rights Act districts, COVID-19 impacts, and socioeconomic factors.
We are asking for your support in providing a public comment to the Bakersfield City School District Board of trustees to support the redistricting map designed by parents and community members that represent their communities.
How YOU Can Join:
ATTEND:Tuesday January 25, 2022 @ 6 p.m. PDT at 1300 Baker Street, Bakersfield, CA 93305 to submit your public comment in person.
PUBLIC COMMENT TEMPLATE:
My name is ______ I am a parent/student/community leader/ staff, teacher, etc. I support the Vecinos Unidos map. This map will allow for an equitable representation and opportunity for my community to elect leaders of their choice and bring resources to our students. Selecting a community map will be essential for the next 10 years. (Provide an example where you reside and the resources/ changes you hope to achieve)
Thank you for your support and dedication to these redistricting efforts!
Please check out the latest issue of the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s Vecinos Unidos® Newsletter to learn more about the important gains and accomplishments we made this year. Big thanks to all of our esteemed volunteers and Vecinos Unidos® chapter members who make this work possible!
The Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) is thrilled to announce that we are one of only ten national No Kid Hungry award recipients. No Kid Hungry, a campaign of Share Our Strength, knows that since school campuses closed nearly a year ago due to the pandemic, making FREE meals available to children is key to their health and academic success. America’s kids need us. COVID-19 has impacted millions of vulnerable children who are losing the school meals they depend on. For some, it’s the only food they’ll receive in a given day. Food insecurity is a growing concern among many families, particularly in the wake of this pandemic, when one in four children could face hunger this year. DHF believes that no kid should go hungry and that is why with the support of our Vecinos Unidos® chapter members, we’ve worked to make sure children throughout the central valley have access to healthy meals, especially in rural farmworker areas and our work is not done until no child is hungry.
Pictured right to left: Ashley De La Rosa, DHF Education Policy Program Director & Cecilia Castro, DHF Deputy Director
The pandemic has exposed like never before our society’s inequities including those faced by students that come from historically disenfranchised communities including: English Language Learners, low-income students, foster youth and students experiencing homelessness. Given the tools and support to be agents of change, those most impacted by the inequities can lead us to real transformative solutions. The Dolores Huerta Foundation has been working with our Vecinos Unidos® members to make sure their voices are centered in the school district budgeting process.
Throughout the months of March and April, the Dolores Huerta Foundation Education team provided parents with the knowledge and tools to make their voices heard to demand that school districts provide the support students in the Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties need. DHFs education department hosted four trainings focused on the school district budgeting process known as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) with 45 Vecinos Unidos® members in attendance. As an outcome of our LCAP training, parents were empowered to host their own LCAP community town halls and invite school district leadership such as Superintendents, School board members, and Directors of Student Services to share their experiences to influence next year’s budget. In April, we hosted two regional LCAP community town halls with 28 Vecinos Unidos® members advocating for 35 LCAP recommendations to six district leadership representatives. All recommendations focused on the improvement of mental health services, school meal access, more nutritious school meals, and better parent engagement for all parents. Empowered parents, students, and community members will continue to advocate to close the educational inequities through the school budgeting process. Want to get involved? Please contact Ashley De La Rosa: adelarosa@doloreshuerta.org, Ph: 661.322.3033 ext. 1231
On Saturday, January 30, 2021, at Our Lady of the Assumption, Caruthers Catholic Church community members anxiously waited in line as early as 10 AM. At the giveaway, 47 community members came to volunteer, and 130 families benefited from the event. A special thank you to everyone involved.
Thank you, Adolfo Ortiz from Catolicos en Accion, who generously donated to the Dolores Huerta Foundation a 48-foot-truck full of household items, clothes, shoes, and toys.
Esperanza, a community member of Caruthers expressed gratitude throughout the event, “On behalf of the community I would like to thank the Dolores Huerta Foundation for supporting us and not leaving us alone in the city of Caruthers.”
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DHF Vecinos Unidos® and Youth focused heavily on the 2020 Census and civic engagement work, while establishing 3 new chapters in northern Los Angeles County’s Antelope Valley: Palmdale, Lancaster, and Rosamond. In addition they organized and volunteered at DHF hosted food banks – holding them during hours more accessible to working families. They distributed food to 3,449 families hard hit by the pandemic. DHF Organizers provided support and resources to help Vecinos avoid foreclosures and evictions and access to other forms of financial assistance. In partnership with local, state and national charitable organizations, DHF distributed more than $250,000 financial assistance to families that were excluded from the Economic Impact Payments provided by the federal government due to legal status. Many of these individuals serve the larger community daily as essential workers.
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