Fwd: Invitation to participate in Day Worker Center community projects
Marn-Yee Lee
Marn Yee
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Hello!
I am writing on behalf of the Day Worker Center (DWC), located in downtown Mountain View. We are a non-proft 501 (c)(3) that works to help the local day laborer community find work, learn English, and, through a knowledge of their human rights, gain the confidence to stand up for themselves.
The DWC has recently been fortunate enough to secure its own permanent home on Escuela Avenue. This achievement is very personally important to us, as we'll be able to expand our services to the community, and finally be able to settle down comfortably in a place of our own. The Escuela site is also important to the day laborer community at large, as it will stand as the first location owned by a day laborer center ever- in the face of a tense national climate, we have been able to protect and keep our own. In gearing up for necessary renovations to our new home, the DWC is currently engaging in an active capital campaign.
Our capital campaign is, of course, comprised of generous private donors and grants from charitable foundations, but we at the DWC are also attempting to raise funds in a more active, unique, and grassroots way. The members of DWC have designed two imaginative cooperatives in which we are inviting the community to participate. One is a community recycling project (A Trabajar, Botella!) , and the other is a community fruit drive (Community Activism Ripening Everyday, or CARE).
We began our recycling project "A Trabajar, Botella" or, roughly in English, "Making Waste Work" a few months back. At the time we only invited local businesses along Castro Street in Downtown Mountain View to participate. The project was well received and was proved productive, with approximately seven businesses participating. We recently decided to expand our services to local residences and allies, to allow others the opportunity to contribute to the making of our much-anticipated home. For this project, we are collecting cans, bottles, and plastics with CRV seal, so we can redeem the recyclables for cash, all of which would then go to our capital campaign.
Our second project, Community Activism Ripening Everyday (CARE), began only a few weeks ago with a few fruit donations from community members which the workers made into jam and fruit sauce. For this project, we are looking for fruit donations from community members who may have surplus fruits growing in their yards. From your donations we plan to make jams, jellies, and other food items, all for sale, and in this way contribute to our capital campaign.
For both projects, members of DWC would be available to pick up donated items (in the case of fruit, we would be available to harvest it as well), and haul donations away at the home owner's convenience.
We at the DWC believe in fostering a cooperative, engaged community spirit- this is why our capital campaign is made up in part of the usual grant and foundation contributions but also smaller, worker-driven projects like the recycling program and the fruit-drive. In this way, each worker, and each of you who donates your ripe, perishable fruits, or empty bottles and cans, helps contribute to the realization of our dream- a property and home of our own.
Please pass this message on to the members of your neighborhood association so that they can consider becoming involved with our effort. I, or another representative of the DWC, will be contacting you within the following week to see that this letter has found you, hopefully in good health and with a happy heart.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Thank you for your time,
Natalie Ramirez
Day Worker Center of Mountain View, Volunteer
748 Mercy St
Mountain View, CA 94041
Phone: (650) 903-4102
