ANNUAL MEMBERS’ MEETING AND EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTION IS ON SUNDAY, MAY 21, 1-3:30PM by ZOOM

Every May we host our Annual Members Meeting where we hear from an engaging guest speaker and elect the club’s Executive Board. The meeting will be on zoom and the voting will take place via email, as we’ve done for the past 4 years.

Click here to renew your membership and continue receiving our newsletter and invitations to meetings! If you donate now, you will be a member through the spring of 2024. You must be a member in good standing to vote at the Annual Meeting.

We’re very happy to welcome Jenny Walter, a founding member of Coast Pride and current President of their board, to speak with our members and answer questions about her organization and the work they do along the Coastside. She was the first Co-Chair of the San Mateo Co LGBTQ Commission. Jenny is also an attorney who initiated and consulted on the documentary called Tribal Justice, served as lead counsel to the California Tribal Court−State Court Forum, and developed statewide policies relating to children, youth, families and concurrent jurisdiction of tribal and state courts. We look forward to hearing more about the local work she does and how we can all become part of it.

Find out more about CoastPride, bringing together the San Mateo Coastside in support of our LGBTQ community.

PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING TO THE COASTSIDE VICTIMS FUND

On January 23, 2023, seven farmworkers were shot and killed in a mass shooting that took place at Terra Garden in Half Moon Bay, Calif. and Concord Farms in nearby San Mateo County, Calif. One individual was critically injured and dozens more were traumatized by the incident. All of the victims were farmworkers; all of the victims were the breadwinners for their families.

The dual shootings occurred at local farms that employed and housed farmworkers and farmworkers’ families. In the immediate aftermath of the violence, 18 households were displaced as the workplaces where the workers and their families lived turned into crime scenes.

Mavericks Community Foundation in partnership with the San Mateo Credit Union (SMCU) Community Fund is administering the https://www.maverickscommunityfoundation.org/victimsfund  It is the sole vehicle where donations can be channeled to address the loss suffered by victims of the mass shooting and their families. This centralized Victims Fund provides grants to individuals regardless of citizenship status. There are no income requirements or lengthy eligibility applications. This fund allows victims and survivors to decide for themselves what they need to cope with and manage their trauma.

The fund is modeled after national best practices and the work of Ken Feinberg who was involved in the creation of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

While the affected families have received immediate basic needs support since the mass shooting incident to help them stabilize, this trauma will impact them for the rest of their lives. Victims and their families continue to need financial support around sudden income loss, ongoing household expenses, staggering medical bills, rehabilitation for injuries and in-home care, not to mention therapy and counseling associated with long-term PTSD.

Please consider making a donation to the Coastside Victims Fund by clicking HERE.

FARMWORKER PUBLIC SUMMIT MAY 20th in HALF MOON BAY

The day before our Annual Meeting, the Farmworker Affairs Committee of the SM Co Democratic Party will host an in-person summit in Half Moon Bay from 1-3pm.

The details are below. It’s so important that we have the opportunity to hear directly from our Farmworkers and all Latino and Asian members of our Coastside community. It’s a free event but we ask that all attendees secure a free ticket through the EventBrite link below so we can follow up and plan accordingly for the number of guests who will attend. Thanks so much for sharing this invitation with everyone you know who might be interested.

The Farmworker Affairs Committee of the San Mateo County Democratic Party cordially invites you to the Farmworker Public Summit on Saturday, May 20 from 1:00pm-3:00pm PST in Half Moon Bay. Our Emcee is: Gloria Rodriguez of ABC 7 News.

This Summit will expand upon the May 2022 Farmworker Roundtable discussion which was attended by the region’s representatives from Congress, the state legislature, and the County Board of Supervisors. Last year’s event was the first time a roundtable of this magnitude was ever organized with our elected representatives and leaders of local community-based organizations. The tragic shootings in January in Half Moon Bay remind us even more urgently of how important it is to expand our efforts and include the public in ongoing discussions of Farmworker-related issues.

The topics that will be discussed on May 20 include: access to clean water, housing, and health care. Following up on last year’s Roundtable, this year’s Summit will focus on mapping tangible policy solutions that lawmakers at all levels of our government can pursue on behalf of our region’s Farmworkers. By taking collective action we can all improve the lives of the people who work so hard to put food on our tables and contribute to our county’s economy.

The Summit will take place on Saturday, May 20 from 1:00pm-3:00pm PST at the following venue:
Boys and Girls Club of The Coastside Event Center
530 Kelly Ave., in Half Moon Bay, CA
To RSVP, please visit:  Farmworker Public Summit Tickets, Sat, May 20, 2023 at 1:00 PM | Eventbrite

Agenda:

For invited officials, time will be allotted from 1:00 p.m -2:00 p.m. to address our attendees and provide updates on their sponsored projects and legislative proposals that are in progress and those they are planning to introduce. We are inviting them to share ways that community members can help pass legislation, secure funding, improve services, and get projects built that improve the lives of Farmworkers.

From 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., we will hear from leaders of our Coastside community based organizations, farmworkers will be invited to comment, make suggestions and ask questions, and other engaged community members in attendance will be asked to participate as time permits. Public comment and questions will be recorded to provide officials with the option to submit answers and follow up at a later time. Translation services in Spanish and Mandarin will be provided.

Invited elected officials include:
● Congresswoman Anna Eshoo
● Congressman Kevin Mullin
● Senator Josh Becker
● Assemblymember Diane Papan
● Assemblymember Marc Berman
● Supervisor Ray Mueller
● SMC Executive Mike Callagy

Invited Community Members and Organizations include:
● Farmworkers
● SMC Dems Farmworker Affairs Committee
● SMC Farmworker Affairs Coalition (non-partisan group)
● Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS)
● Coastside Hope
● Puente de la Costa Sur
● Dolores Huerta, Founder and President of Dolores Huerta Foundation and Co-Founder of United Farm Workers (UFW)
● United Farm Workers (UFW)

For further information and to confirm your availability, please contact the Chair of the SMC Dems Farmworker Affairs Committee, Victoria Sanchez De Alba at 650-270-7819 / victoria@dealba.net. or Farm Worker Affairs Committee member April Vargas at 650-207-2729

Homeowners and renters in San Mateo County with damage or losses due to the series of New Year’s storms can apply for federal disaster assistance.

https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4683

Disaster assistance may include grants to help pay for temporary housing and essential home repairs as well as other serious disaster-related needs such as medical and dental expenses, transportation, childcare and moving and storage expenses. The deadline to apply is March 16, 2023.