Hijas del Campo to receive Equity Impact Award
Philanthropy Awards Honorees Spotlight
This year's East Bay Philanthropy Awards honorees are an amazing group. They exemplify the ways our community is stepping up for each other to overcome challenges and envision a better future.
We will be sharing their stories right here and across social media in the lead up to our event on November 18.
Equity Impact Award 🏆
As about 50 workers quietly picked tomatoes at a farm in Brentwood, Marivel Mendoza and Dorina Moraida set up tables on the dirt road skirting the expansive field.
The women, both first-generation Mexican Americans whose parents started out working in the fields, offered donated water, breakfast burritos, and kits with masks, gloves, hats, and goggles to protect the workers from COVID-19.
Founded by four daughters of immigrants and farmworkers, Hijas del Campo is on a mission to help migrant and seasonal farmworkers improve their working conditions, health, and safety.
On this day, Hijas del Campo was also partnering with volunteers from Contra Costa Health Services who provided COVID-19 tests and vaccinated 10 workers after their shifts ended.
“One of our focus areas is equity and access to COVID-19 vaccines and health information,” said Mendoza, who is president of the organization. “There is a lot of fear among the field workers, and us being daughters of field workers, this is a big deal to us.”
The migrant field workers often work 7 days a week and might not have time to seek a vaccine, so bringing health information and vaccines to them in the fields is a way to ensure they receive protection against the virus.
Hijas del Campo founders have been able to build trust among the workers, and they have used that trust to reassure workers that they will not be asked for residency documentation or be denied the vaccine.
“If we came out here with our van by ourselves without Hijas, there would be no way for us to get the vaccines to them,” said Diana Aleman, a community health ambassador with Contra Costa Health Services. “We need that trusted bridge and Hijas provides it.”
When they are not helping provide COVID-19 vaccines and health information in the fields, Hijas del Campo is coordinating food, household, and school supply donations to the workers at their homes and in the fields.
“We’re working to combat food insecurities because a lot of the people don’t qualify for the federal stimulus checks,” said Mendoza. “They’re really just scraping by.”
Organizations like Hijas del Campo represent the profound impact that the few can have on the many as they continue to build power and help achieve health equity in the East Bay. The East Bay Leadership Council is thrilled to honor their work on November 18 at the 11th Annual East Bay Philanthropy Awards presented by Wells Fargo.
Nominated By
Kaiser Permanente
Event Details
Date & Time
Thursday, November 18 | 9:00 - 10:00 AM
Cost
Free | The cost to attend and the EBLC's work in support of the nonprofit sector has been underwritten by our sponsors. We hope you will consider donating to your favorite honoree.
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Must Read | Oakland A's waterfront ballpark wins support of Alameda County Supervisors
Sarah Ravani in the SF Chronicle: Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors declared its willingness Tuesday to help fund the Oakland A’s $12 billion plan to build a waterfront ballpark and development at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square.
By a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the board approved a non-binding resolution stating the county’s intent to contribute a portion of property taxes generated by the project into a tax district for the purpose of financing on-site affordable housing, parks and other “infrastructure of community-wide significance” around the ballpark site over a 45-year period. The resolution does not officially commit the county yet to a definite course of action.
However, it is considered a key step to advancing the proposed development that could keep the A’s in Oakland and bring thousands of new jobs and homes to the area. The proposed Howard Terminal project is one of the most expensive developments in the country and, if approved and built, would dramatically change Oakland’s waterfront.
“Tonight’s vote by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors is a historic action that creates a clear path to keep the A’s rooted in Oakland and build a world-class waterfront ballpark district that will benefit Bay Area residents for generations to come,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement.
What else is #TeamEBLC reading?
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