10 Years of Presencia!
The world often makes the children of immigrants feel invisible and powerless. They face barriers because of language, culture, and race. They see parents, relatives, and friends detained and deported without warning. They attend underfunded and overcrowded schools. And the stresses of poverty often leave them few options in life.
From living and working with them for a decade, we know firsthand the courage, resilience, and sense of community that often goes unseen in these lives. As we approached our ten-year anniversary, we wanted to center our students and staff and give them a chance to shine.
So we gathered at a banquet with new and old friends. We shared a meal cooked by a chef who lives in our community, listened to songs about our neighborhood, and interviewed our staff.
The centerpiece of our celebration was a play performed by Presencia students. They performed excerpts of “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown” to a lively and appreciative audience. Sitting with a diverse community to laugh, cheer, and applaud them was one of the most moving and satisfying experiences of our life here. Our young neighbors had a chance to be seen, praised, and encouraged.
The dinner guests, hosts, sponsors, and patrons responded to the celebration with amazing generosity. We were able to raise over $41,000 toward the ongoing work of Presencia!
To all who have supported us over the last ten years, and to those who gave, volunteered, and invited others to make this event such a success, Thank you!
As our relationships and impact deepen over the next ten years, as we equip more of our neighbors to lead with love, we’ll mark this season as one where our work began to bloom.
Video: Wanda’s Story
Wanda has grown up with Presencia. We first met her when she was in elementary school, and she is now leading our tutoring work. She and our staff talk about their work in this brand new video.
Organizational Growth
As our impact in the lives of our staff, leaders, and students grows and deepens, we are working to make 2019 the year that we grow as an organization in the following ways.
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Sustain our new Presencia space for greater neighborhood ownership, partnering opportunities, and community events.
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Create partnerships and processes that make us more sustainable and transparent. These include legal services, bookkeeping, accounting, and insurance.
- Provide competitive pay and create new staff positions to support our growth and more effectively care for our neighbors.
As our presence in the neighborhood and our impact in the lives of our neighbors grow, we’re excited to grow in sustainability, transparency, and staff to ensure that our work gets better and better!
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