DHF Committed To Census Outreach And Supporting Communities
The Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF) has been working on the Census for the past year as part of a coordinated effort with the Kern Complete Count Committee to make sure that hard-to-count communities are informed about the importance of completing the 2020 Census. Paid and volunteer canvassers knocked on doors and spoke with residents in their homes. DHF held monthly community forums. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, we have restructured our outreach methods for the safety of our staff and community.
DHF is utilizing its databases to reach tens of thousands of people through ramped up phone banking efforts, social media, email blasts, and paper mail. This includes our network of thousands of Vecinos Unidos members to make sure that our hard-to-count rural communities stay informed even if they don’t have internet access. To date, DHF has contacted 32,000 people in Kern County, 21,000 in Tulare, and 31,000 in Fresno for a total of 84,000 in the communities we serve.
There are three ways people can fill out the Census this year: by paper questionnaire, by phone, and online at https://my2020census.gov/. Households can start responding online or by phone by providing their address even if they don’t have their 12-digit census ID number. To fill out the Census, call 844-330-2020 for English and 844-468-2020 for Spanish. Paper questionnaires are not available by demand. The deadline to self-report has been extended to October 31st, 2020.
You can help by making sure your friends and family members participate and bring $20,000 per person into your community for important resources like parks, road improvements, hospitals, emergency services, libraries, schools and more. This also determines how much political representation you have in the government.
Less than half of residents have responded in the counties we work in. Are you down with the count? Call to Action! Complete the census today! Let’s all be down for the count! https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html
DHF Continues Work for Education Equity
Since school closures, the DHF Education Department has been working to address the immediate needs of families in the Central Valley by providing health, financial, and educational resources. The DHF continues to work closely with Vecinos Unidos and DHF Youth to ensure that they have the most current information from their 17 respective school districts, and the educational resources and support needed for “emergency learning” at home. Despite the technological challenges rural areas face, the DHF has continued to work with our parents and youth who are committed to continue organizing to address the educational inequities that existed long before this pandemic: the lack of access to technology, limited resources for English language learner students and parents, lack of access to mental health services, and the push out of black and brown students through punitive disciplinary practices.
An Education in Activism: Dolores Huerta Day Curriculum
DHF is pleased to announce the release of the Dolores Huerta Day Education Curriculum created by an expert committee of educators. The educational curriculum meets all California State Standards by grade level. The Dolores Huerta Day Curriculum gives young learners the opportunity to learn about Dolores and provides lessons and activities which encourage them to participate in actions for social justice, civil rights and empowers them to fight for fair representation, voting rights, and equitable education. Please visit this link to read more about the Dolores Huerta Day Curriculum and check out the K-12 lesson plan templates: http://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta-day-curriculum/
We encourage people to support the efforts of DHF Youth and Vecinos by asking their School District Board of Trustees and Administration to adopt the resolution that states that they will commit to teach students about the life of Dolores Huerta during the month of April.
Please contact Ashley De La Rosa at adelarosa@doloreshuerta.org if you have any questions.
The Dolores Huerta Peace and Justice Cultural Center to Honor Civil Rights Legacy of the Central Valley
DHF is excited to launch our capital campaign capital campaign in partnership with Self Help Federal Credit Union (SHFCU). The Dolores Huerta Peace and Justice Cultural Center, a multicultural community center complex in downtown Bakersfield, California, is a state-of-the-art campus that will include DHF headquarters, a new SHFCU branch office, a comprehensive child development facility, an art gallery, an outdoor amphitheater, and a community organizing and training academy.
The campus will honor the historic civil rights legacy of immigrants and historic communities such as Native Americans, African-Americans, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Mexican Braceros, Okies, Indo-Americans, the farm workers whose labor enriched California’s agricultural economy.
¡Sí Se Puede at 90!
On April 10, Dolores Huerta celebrated 90 years, a life of activism and the second year of Dolores Huerta Day in California. In 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed designating April 10th as Dolores Huerta Day, a recognition of her achievements as a Civil rights leader and community organizer. She is the first and only living person to hold this honor.
Dolores is raising funds to help communities who are in dire need and would be honored if you could celebrate her birthday with her and be a champion for these underserved populations.
Please join us on Saturday, May 16 for a 90th Birthday Celebration and Live-Stream Benefit!
This remote-attendance party will feature a roster of special guests, including Jane Fonda, Cristela Alonzo and Tim Robbins, for a night of entertainment and activism. The goal is to raise funds for the Dolores Huerta Foundation’s (DHF) frontline efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in the regions of California where politically disempowered, low income, immigrant, and farmworker communities are being severely impacted in these difficult times. Details coming soon!
For more information about Dolores’ life, visit: http://doloreshuerta.org/dolores-huerta/
