Social Justice Fund for Ventura County Monthly Update — 2022 March

Hello,

We hope you all are enjoying the longer days of sunlight! The Social Justice Fellows are hard at work and continue to inspire us. Our Fellows are advancing their projects demonstrating excellent leadership skills, determination and a passion for justice. It is with great pleasure that we have an opportunity to share their updates, with the hope of bringing a little more sunshine into your day. We hope you will enjoy this month’s Social Justice Fund newsletter:

• Sierra Doehr is setting up a farmers’ market in Saticoy to increase access to fresh food and enable local farmers to sell their produce. She has already set up a 501c(3) non-profit entity, has 5 committed vendors, and is finalizing all necessary permits to hold the events this summer. Thank you to all of the elected officials, public agencies and community members for aiding Sierra in these efforts. Sierra is also working with other local leaders in establishing a community fridge program. The community fridge provides free food to community members experiencing food insecurity. You can learn more by visiting: Saticoy Farmers Market Website. 
• Alisa De Los Santos is continuing with her project to engage and empower parents of color to represent the needs to their children in Pleasant Valley School District. After a delay due to the pandemic, Alisa and the district will be holding more listening sessions in March and April. Alisa also has several parents who have volunteered to help develop and take training to become advocates for their children. This engagement from the community is key to ensuring the project is sustainable.
• Monique “Mo” Gonzalez is the founder and creative director of Get Loud Movement, a social justice art collective centering LGBTQIA+ creatives and their allies. We already mentioned that on April 23rd, Mo will be partnering with Oxnard Performing Arts Center (OPAC) to bring the first ever Social Justice Arts & Film Fest! The goal is to develop a community healing approach through art while giving young ARTivists the tools to raise awareness through creative expression. The event is from 11 to 6 PM at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. You can register or learn more at this link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-justice-arts-film-fest-tickets-219974318107#Mo’s incredible leadership and organizational skills throughout the duration of this project have led to a job offer at OPAC. We congratulate Mo on our all their successes!!!
• Michelle and Edith Carballo are continuing their work in increasing awareness amongst undocumented immigrants of the long-term consequences of not getting legitimate legal representation. They set up stands at SWAP meets each month and will begin holding additional educational session in the coming months. We will keep you informed!!

We are proud of the progress our Fellows are making and thank all whose contribution have made their work possible. We want to emphasize that one of the primary goals of Social Justice Fellowships is to enhance access to leadership opportunities throughout the County and help sharpen their skills as they advance to the next stop on their journeys. To support leaders like these, donate to the SJFVC by clicking the link below.

With sincere gratitude,

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