The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County — August Fellowship Update

All of our 2022-2023 Fellows have officially completed their projects!

As we reflect on the past year of our Fellowship program, we celebrate the unwavering dedication and transformative approaches exhibited by our Fellows:

• Brenda not only established free Zumba classes for Nyeland Acres, but also managed to establish yoga classes for her community even after her Fellowship ended.
• Zuly and Fatima created reproductive justice workshops that reached multiple generations at once, helping to build deep connections between families of different ages and stages of life.

• Sierra has built a team of staff members and volunteers who are all working to support community knowledge around the upcoming Saticoy Farmers Market and the currently thriving Saticoy Community Fridge.

• Dexter continues to support the Black community. Just last week, Dexter supported a client by helping her get access to a consultation with a lawyer for guidance before a court date.
• Dafne and Victoria created invaluable LGBTQ+ curriculum and are consistently collaborating with other organizations to bring cultural experiences and resources to the Oxnard LGBTQ+ community.

The efforts of our Fellows yielded outstanding results and SJFVC recognizes the various ways in which our Fellows rose to the challenge and used their leadership skills to create sustainable change.

We are now approaching the September 1st deadline for our 2023-2024 Fellowship Program and are looking forward to sharing updates about our next round of Fellows in September.

In the meantime, please check out the recent SJFVC news:

• SJFVC received a grant from the Amgen Foundation! Thank you Amgen Foundation for your generosity and for helping us support grassroots social justice leaders.
• Longtime board members Casey Rogers and Angel Garcia recently stepped down from the SJFVC board. Casey and Angel both brought incredible compassion, creativity, and thoughtfulness to our board, and we are so grateful for their incredible leadership over the past several years. We wish them well in their next endeavors!
• SJFVC is excited to introduce a new board member, Danny Carrillo. Recently retired, Danny was previously the Tri-Counties Regional Director at SEIU Local 721, for Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. A longtime resident of Ventura County, Danny is very excited to support emerging social justice leaders at SJFVC. Excited to have you as a part of our team, Danny!

With sincere gratitude,

The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County funds and empowers future leaders
promoting fairness, equity, human & environmental rights in our community.