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In Memory of an Original Social Justice Warrior
SJF is part of Alice's legacy. Her obituary asks that donations be sent to the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County. To read more about Alice's amazing life and/or make a contribution in her name, please click here. The VC Star's obituary can be read here.
Thank you Alice, thank you to all who advocate for social justice.
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2010 Giving Circle* Calendar
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January 28 - Kick-off educational meeting
February 25 - The lens of community organizing
March-April - Site visits
Grantmaking cycle runs April through October, 2010.
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*Donors who give $500 or more are eligible to participate. It's not too late to join the 2010 Giving Circle. To quote 2009 GC member Doug Raleigh at the start of this year's grantmaking, "It is a job I am honored by."
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Matthew Weisman:
Screenwriter, Giving
Circle Member
Photo by Jon DeLorey
Matthew joined SJF after his neighbor and his wife's good
friend, Stefanie Angelini,
invited the Weismans to an introductory meeting for the Social Justice
Fund. The Giving Circle approach to
philanthropy appealed to him immediately.
"It struck me as a unique way of doing things and opened the door to a
world I knew nothing about-the world of proposals and grants. It was also a great way to learn more about
our community," Matthew said.
Continue reading Matthew's story here ...
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Food, Climate and
Social Justice
This season
of feasting and celebration is the perfect time to think seriously about
food. Check out Marty Fujita's
article "Reinventing Food Systems" in the climate change issue of the journal "Race, Poverty and
Environment." Marty explains how global
warming is affecting agriculture and proposes changes that could help mitigate
its effect.
For
additional information about the politics of our food system see The Nation
Magazine's index where
you can access their articles.
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GRANTEE UPDATE: VC CLUE
Ventura County Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice
Alice Linsmeier grew up in Wisconsin. After graduating from college, she spent a
year volunteering in LA where she met Salvadorans fleeing the civil war. Inspired by their strength and unity, she
went to El Salvador "to meet the people directly." Although she planned to stay for two weeks,
she remained for six years. Working with
the Jesuit Refugee Service, Alice witnessed Salvadorans in camps bravely
planning to repopulate their massacred villages, even without government
approval for their return. "Their non-violent peaceful actions amidst a civil
war" taught her "how to have faith in difficult times and how to make change." 
Alice at the center of Shine a Light protests, "a profound
and joyous event." Photo by Eric DeBode
(Continue reading story here ...)
Note: Read Engaged Spirituality a 2004 document from USC's Center for Religion and Civic
Culture about faith and political activism in which Alice Linsmeier's work is
noted.
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"MAKING CHANGE" Events at California State University, Channel Islands and California Lutheran University
In collaboration with academic centers at both CSUCI and CLU, the Social Justice Fund rolled out our 7-minute movie and issues report, "Making Change: Building a Movement for Social Justice in Ventura County" to students, faculty and members of the community earlier this month. Attendees then engaged in small group discussions. It was well-received and we are looking forward to partnering with both institutions in the future.
KCLU's Lance Orozco did a story on December 4th, 2009, "Social Justice issues in Ventura County examined in new study." Click here to listen.
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What Everyone Is
Reading (at CSUCI at least!)
California State University
Channel Islands (CSUCI) has invited their entire community to participate in
their sixth annual Campus Reading Celebration designed to provide a shared intellectual experience and
opportunities for rich, meaningful conversations. This year's book is Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of
Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus, microcredit pioneer and creator of the
Grameen Foundation. In Creating a World Without Poverty, Dr.
Yunus presents a new way of using the vitality and creativity of business to
tackle our most challenging social problems.
As the
centerpiece of their celebration CSUCI is bringing Dr. Yunus to the Thousand
Oaks Civil Arts Plaza on Friday, February 26 at 4 p.m. This event is open to
the public and will surely sell out, so act now if you want to attend.
Please consider reading the book yourself and inviting friends & members of our community to your home to talk about it.
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Volunteer
Opportunities with SJF and our partners
El Centrito Family Learning Center is looking for a community member passionate about the
education of Latino youth to serve on their board. For 17 years El Centrito has served
Mexican-American families, especially youth at risk of low academic
achievement. This new board member would
bring knowledge and experience working with organizational advocacy and the
political structure of Oxnard. Contact Luann Rocha, Executive Director.
Oxnard's Café on A is home to The
Foundation for Educational and Employment Resources Development (EERD),
which provides much-needed opportunities to at-risk and marginalized
individuals or groups in the Oxnard
plains area. Co-founder, Deborah De Vries invites volunteers to mentor their youth projects and
help with Open Mic, Grow Green and other projects. For information, call
Deborah at 805-216-4530, or email her.
The Social Justice Fund is a volunteer-led, volunteer-run organization. The contribution of your talents is greatly appreciated. As in the case with Matthew (see his story), we often don't know about your skills. YOU may be just the person we're looking for ...
- to coordinate the Speakers Bureau
- to oversee the Sponsorship program
- to write an op-ed piece for the newspaper
- to help with our signature event next May
- to get school credit as a social media manager intern*
- ________________ and so much more ...
Please let Tricia know if you want to get more involved in SJF. We all will reap the benefits. Thank you. *Intern description available.
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"CREATING CHANGE NOT CHARITY"
Become part of the change and join the Social Justice Fund today!
For more information contact SJF's Administrative Director, Tricia Keen socialjusticefund@vccf.orgSJF is committed to developing a lively up-to-date Internet
presence including a new website and a Facebook page with lots of opportunities
for interaction and conversation. Email
Tricia to learn how you can help.
Email your thoughts and
recommendations for SJF's bi-monthly newsletter to editor Karen McAuley. And
thanks! |
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