For tickets click, here – 2022 Heritage Foundation Dinner | Contra Costa County (cccfheritagefoundation.com).
Women Forward International brings together Mexican, Calif. food recovery partners for distribution event in Antioch Thursday
Under the auspices of WFI, the Mexican Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs is joining with California’s White Pony Express to create a model for attacking food insecurity on a global scale
On July 7, 2022, a new global partnership will make the first of many shared moves against food insecurity.
Women Forward International, the global non-profit that is building creative partnerships to bring about unity, collaboration and service to humanity, will bring their Mexican partners, the Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs of Mexico (EVM), for a site visit and food distribution with their California partner, White Pony Express (WPE), a leading food rescue and recovery non-profit, located in Contra Costa County. This follows on WPE’s site visit sponsored by WFI to EVM’s headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico last month.
The food distribution will be held in conjunction with RR Ministries, a community bilingual church in Antioch. The event will take place on Thursday, July 7 at (time) in the church’s parking lot at 512 W. 2nd Street. Sweetgreen, the health-focused casual food restaurant chain and WPE partner, is providing 150 vegan salads for the volunteers. World Centric, leader in compostable materials and sustainability, will be providing earth friendly containers for the food distribution.
The event represents WFI’s expansion of a volunteer-powered food delivery service initiative in Mexico. The non-profit organization is bringing together White Pony Express and the Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs of Mexico in order to provide technical assistance and support for EVM’s Mesa Redonda Round Table initiative, aimed at reducing hunger in America’s neighbor.
Throughout EVM’s visit, WPE will help EVM deepen its work underway, institute safety policies and practices, raise awareness, and ultimately expand their services. WPE will provide lessons learned and will help develop manuals and approaches that will enable Mesa Redonda to incorporate more restaurants and other types of businesses into their network as well as serve additional organizations supporting women who have suffered from gender-based violence (GBV).
According to Kent Davis-Packard, founder and president of Women Forward International, “The collaboration of White Pony Express with its Mexican counterpart demonstrates the power of cross-border partnership to alleviate food insecurity and contribute to social equality. It also provides an example of a new paradigm of philanthropy that is based on love and human unity.”
Eve Birge, Executive Director of White Pony Express, added, “We look forward to deepening the impact of the Mesa Redonda initiative through sharing best practices and approaches to building trust and collaboration. In short, we will help them create a model that will be scalable and is based on our belief in the ‘all of us taking care of all of us’ vision.”
Rocio Cavazos, founder and president of EVM, envisions a deeper purpose for her organization’s visit, “WFI and WPE are helping us achieve a shared goal of uplifting lives, protecting the environment, and putting an end to hunger and marginalization. This model can be applicable to the entire world.”
ABOUT WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL (WFI)
WFI(www.womenforwardinternational.org) builds creative partnerships that bridge mind and heart to bring about unity, collaboration and service to humanity. WFI’s partnerships encompass a range of private sector, academic and non-profit clients to identify research critical to human progress, and then pairs teams of graduate international studies students with these organizations to complete that research and implement innovative solutions. These projects include empowering women artisans in conflict zones, enabling sustainable farming with gender equity and taking steps toward the elimination of hunger along with inclusive access to education through digital and other unique platforms. WFI uses the reflective power of Art to reveal and investigate the underlying cultural issues at stake in a given international relations issue. It thus provides the next generation of global leaders with a more holistic approach to human relationships.
ABOUT VEGAN ENTREPRENEURS OF MEXICO (EVM)
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, the Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs of Mexico (en.aevm.mx) is an NGO and entrepreneurial community that strives to empower consumers to adopt conscious and healthy lifestyles. Members make plant-based options accessible to the general public, replacing the use of animals to achieve balance with the Earth, the health of our bodies and an ethical interaction with other living beings with which we share the planet.
ABOUT WHITE PONY EXPRESS (WPE)
Based in the California Bay Area, White Pony Express (WPE) (www.whiteponyexpress.org) is a volunteer-powered organization with a mission to eliminate hunger and poverty by delivering the abundance all around us to those in need—with love. They serve 120,000 people each year by partnering with more than 80 non-profit agencies who have strong ties to the community. The rescue program at WPE has expanded this model by subjecting all collected food to a meticulous culling process and promising that it is obtained, sorted, and redistributed within a twenty-four-hour time period—seven days a week.
ABOUT RR MINISTRIES (MINISTERIOS REY DE REYES): RR Ministries is a bilingual ministry, located in Antioch, California. We believe God has called us to teach His word as an instrument of restoration and healing for the families in our community. We, as a church are committed to create an environment that builds healthy individuals and strong families. The church’s Promise Keeper Program conducts regularly conducts food and supplies distribution on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. For information, call (925) 588-4818.
East County Juneteenth Celebration in downtown Brentwood Sunday, June 19
Souljahs 11th Annual Juneteenth Celebration in Pittsburg Saturday, June 18
San Ramon Valley Fire to offer demos during Art & Wind Festival
Learn more about the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District.
End Gun Violence Community Event in Pittsburg Saturday, June 4
Downtown Pleasant Hill Art, Wine & Music Festival May 21 & 22
Memorial Day Parade in Bay Point May 30
By Delano Johnson, ED, Bay Point Community All-N-One
We are pleased to be celebrating our Annual Memorial Day’s Parade again which is being held on Monday, May 30, 2022, in front of the Ambrose Recreational and Park District at 3105 Willow Pass Road in Bay Point. It will commence at 9:00AM -and conclude by 12:00 Noon. We are looking forward to everyone in the community joining us.
Memorial Day remembers and honors our U.S. military men and women who died while serving during wartime.
This practice of honoring our fallen service men and women began as Decoration Day after the Civil War when families of both Union and Confederate forces began to decorate the graves of the fallen. Decoration Day eventually became Memorial Day.
Our Memorial Day’s Parade will include traditional elements beginning with prayers, tributes to our uniformed men and women and a parade performance from participants of the communities.
As a participant you may sign up to perform with us and we welcome you also to become a sponsor.
For more information about how to join us, please contact Mrs. Nelda Hills, (510)409-6123 or Mr. Charles Davies (510) 692-5706.
Richmond’s Safe Return Project to celebrate 10th anniversary April 23
It has been ten incredible years since the launch of the Safe Return Project and we are looking forward to the promise of a new decade that brings us closer to mass liberation, racial equity, and a more just world.
To celebrate the positive impact we have had on the lives of thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families, our accomplishments in policy and advocacy, the community we have built for ourselves, and this year’s graduating fellows, we will be hosting our 10-year anniversary celebration on April 23, 2022 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM.
Join us for great music, local food and drink, and the chance to build community as we celebrate the empowerment of our fellows! I can think of no greater cause for celebration than the incredible personal transformations our fellows have developed within Richard Boyd Fellowship program! They really have done an incredible job – this is their day!
Women’s History Month Q&A with Safe Return Project’s civic engagement organizer
“if we don’t stand for something, we will not see the changes that we want to in our community.” – Chala Bonner
By Safe Return Project
In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to showcase the wisdom and accomplishments of the exceptional women of color leading Safe Return Project’s efforts to create a better world for formerly incarcerated people, their families, and their communities. Their personal strength, integrity, and character serve as an inspiration and beacon of light for everyone who crosses their paths.
The Richmond-based organization is invested in building a base of power at the political, social, and economic levels of formerly incarcerated persons across the state of California, addressing the root causes of poverty and the impact that the criminal legal system has had on black people and communities of color.
First up, we are featuring Civic Engagement Organizer, Chala Bonner! She works hard at Safe Return to level the playing field for formerly incarcerated people of color. Her passion for helping others in her community shines through her work.
Her goal is to build equity in the community by helping folks overcome the obstacles and challenges that come with incarceration and reentry and bring healing to those who have had traumatic and stressful experiences. Her personal motto is “Don’t let your past dictate your future.”
Where did you grow up? What was it like?
Richmond, CA. Growing up in Richmond had its ups and downs. However, for the most part, I loved growing up in Richmond. Most of my family and friends live in Richmond. I remember as a little girl always hanging out at the North Richmond Community Center when my grandmother worked there.
Who have been your mentors, and what did you learn from them?
I have mentors who don’t even realize that they are mentors to me. Some people truly lead by example, and I just admire their leadership and learn from them.
What does feminism mean to you?
To me, feminism is standing up for women to have the same rights, power, positions, and opportunities as men and be treated as equal and not less than.
Who are the women you admire most, both in your personal life and in the fight for social justice?
The two women I admire the most in my personal life are my late grandmother and my mother. I’ve learned a lot from them; how to walk in power, truth, love, and resilience. The women that I admire in the fight for social justice are too many to name but just to name a few Kim Carter, Jessica Nowlan, and of course Tamisha Walker. These ladies are paving the way for social justice.
What in particular led you to choose working to serve formerly incarcerated people?
My lived experience led me to choose this work. After going through what I have been through, I knew I wanted to make a change. I did not know much about grassroots organizing when I first got started with the Safe Return Project, but I knew that I wanted to make changes in my community and the injustice system.
What struggles do you see formerly incarcerated women and non-binary folks face that formerly incarcerated men do not? How can we best address them?
I see a lack of adequate resources for formerly incarcerated women and non-binary folks. Not just jobs and housing, but family reunification, education, rehabilitation, and mental and physical health services. The way that we have been addressing these issues is to bring them to light through our participatory action research, advocating for change at the local, county, and even state levels.
What piece of advice would you give to formerly incarcerated women and non-binary folks to overcome gender-related obstacles?
Never give up! Yes, you may get a thousand no’s before you get the yes, but if we don’t stand for something, we will not see the changes that we want to in our community.
What is an important piece of wisdom you learned from working directly with formerly incarcerated women and non-binary folks?
Rest is revolutionary! We carry trauma, we tell our stories over and over, we fight for change constantly, and we have to take the time to rest, restore, empower and heal daily to stay in the fight.
For more information visit www.safereturnprj.org.
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