Subscribe to this blog's feedByline: Kafi D. Blumenfield
What I love about Liberty Hill is that whether you’re financially in the 1% or the 99%, it's where we come together to make our city more just, and to call upon the financial sector, government and other institutions to do better.
Much of what I wish for my family this season is what you want for yours. We want our loved ones to be safe and free from fear and intimidation. We want them to be happy, and to have the opportunity to succeed and be well. These things shouldn’t be impossible. They shouldn’t even be in doubt. But they are.
So the themes of the Occupy movement continue to resonate. Last Sunday, when supporters of Liberty Hill Foundation came together to ring in the holidays, several guests mentioned that they had dropped by Occupy sites in L.A. and other cities. And we talked about how several of our grantees—including The Labor/Community Strategy Center—have been involved with Occupy activists, helping them move to focused strategic actions like the recent occupations at homes about to be foreclosed.
Even with the social and political turmoil around us, it is a great time for the Liberty Hill community to gather, and of course, many of us came with family members. This time of year is about family—whether it’s the ones you start out with, the ones you choose, or the ones you gain along the way!
In my house, the holidays are very much about the kids, who are everything they should be—rambunctious, high energy, full of love and smarts.
My kids have all the love and luck in the world, and still I wonder—will their public schools worsen over the next decade? Will the UC system be strong when they’re ready for college? If my daughter is lesbian or transgender will she experience hate or discrimination? Will my son, because he’s African-American, be singled out, subject to unwarranted police attention like so many other young men of color?
A decade or so ago Manuel Criollo, one of our guests last night, was being pushed out of school, right here in L.A., in the West Valley. Now he’s an outstanding leader, the Director of Organizing for the Labor Community Strategy Center, one of Liberty Hill’s most effective grantee organizations. Accompanying Manuel, but telling his own story—was Nabil Romero, a student member of the Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign. [You can read Nabil's story on this blog post.]
Like other Liberty Hill grantees—whether organizing around Occupy LA issues and/or on their ongoing campaigns—Manuel is bringing voice day in and day out to the needs and demands of the 99%— people who face numerous social, economic, and environmental hardships.
I thank both Manuel and Nabil for speaking with us and I encourage you to go to the Strategy Center’s website to learn more about their work and to read some of their writings on Occupy LA. Liberty Hill’s website also has a steady stream of grantee updates, Occupy activity, and news.
As we come to the end of the year, please consider making a donation to Liberty Hill. With your support, together we can create a Los Angeles that promises equality and justice for all.
Here are just a few examples of what your support enables us to do.
A gift of $5,000 covers the cost for a participant in the Wally Marks Leadership Institute for Change. The Leadership Institute is one of Liberty Hill’s greatest success stories. An independent evaluator just issued a glowing report on it. We’re looking into whether we can grow the model to help more nonprofit leaders.
$2,500 will help push Liberty Hill’s Clean Up Green Up campaign past the finish line. After years of research and organizing, legislation is being developed that will transform L.A.’s toxic hotspots into green zones. This is a first-in-the-nation approach.
A $1,200 gift-- that's $100 a month—will allow Liberty Hill to issue a rapid response grant. What does this mean? One example might be: A grantee comes to us on a Monday with an urgent request for funds to get a bus full of members to Sacramento on Friday. By Wednesday morning, we’ve approved the grant – because you made that $100 a month commitment—and well-organized Angelenos are in Sacramento because you made it possible.
$500 a month can allow Liberty Hill to provide micro-grants to help organizations doing vital voter engagement this election year. We all know voter turnout, especially in low income neighborhoods, will be critical.
We appreciate whatever you can afford, whatever you can give, whether smaller or large. It doesn’t matter what size donation you make, Liberty Hill is going to invest it wisely. We repect you and your gifts. We are your public foundation. We thank you. Happy Holidays.
To make your year-end donation, please click here.
URGENT: BREAKING NEWS! Your contribution will have double the impact due to a very generous matching gift challenge.
Give before December 31, 2011 and your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by LIberty Hill supporter, Katrina venden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation and author of The Change I Believe in: Fighting for Progress in the Age of Obama. So please hurry to take advantage of this match.
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