|
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers would like to extend their gratitude to Joan and Buck Blessing for their wonderfully generous contribution of $10,000 in support of the CIW’s new Community Center! Joan has been very active in the Campaign for Fair Food; recently, for example, she collected numerous signatures at St. Monica´s Episcopal Church in Naples as part of a religious sign-on letter encouraging Governor Crist to meet with the CIW and to take actions to prevent slavery in Florida´s fields.
The new community center here in Immokalee is the base for the CIW’s human rights work and is essential to community outreach, leadership development, educational programming, and organizing work in the farmworker community. It’s the home of the CIW’s low-power radio station, Radio Conciencia 107.9 FM, as well as a staple food cooperative that provides daily essentials to community members at cost. Also housed here is the Anti-Slavery office, a place for the Coalition’s work against human trafficking, and a multimedia library, where members of the community are able to use computers, books, and other educational resources.
Joan and Buck´s much-appreciated contribution pushes the funds raised in the CIW´s Community Center Capital Campaign to $598,729. In order to cover remaining renovation and furnishing expenses, we must secure another $401,271. For more information on how to support the CIW´s Community Center, please contact Jordan Buckley at (239) 986 9101 or Jordan@InterfaithAct.org.
The First Congregational United Church of Christ, Downers Grove has raised $20,000 to support the CIW’s new Community Center.
A delegation from the church first visited Immokalee in December 2004, experiencing first hand the reality of life for farmworkers. They returned to Illinois to share their experiences with the the rest of the congregation and continue their involvement in the Taco Bell Boycott, traveling to Louisville, KY in March of 2005 for the celebration of the Yum Brands agreement.
Members of the congregation became even more deeply involved with the Campaign for Fair Food in 2006, when a team from Immokalee moved to the suburbs of Chicago to work on the McDonald's campaign. McDonald's world headquarters is in Oak Brook, the town adjacent to Downers Grove. Many members of the church were instrumental in calling on McDonald's to improve wages and conditions for farmworkers. Last February, a delegation of the church again visited Immokalee, touring the soon to be completed Community Center. That visit sparked the idea to raise money for the Center in conjunction with the church's own Capital Campaign.
Their remarkable donation will considerably boost the CIW´s Capital Campaign for the new Community Center.
The CIW expresses sincere gratitude to the whole congregation, saying, “We are thankful for the support you have shown us-- both in the Campaign for Fair Food and for our dream of creating a farmworker community center to serve as the base of our work for human rights. Thanks to your partnership, the Community Center is closer than ever to becoming a reality.”
The First Congregational United Church of Christ, Downers Grove contribution sets the total funds raised in the CIW´s Community Center Capital Campaign to $567,000 – just another $433,000 to go to cover all remaining expenses. For more information on how to support the CIW´s Community Center, please contact Jordan Buckley at (239) 986 9101 or Jordan@InterfaithAct.org
Last week, Audrey Bender, a steadfast CIW supporter and community activist in nearby Naples, FL made a generous contribution to the CIW´s new Community Center.
Her $5,000 gift will enable the CIW to pay off remaining expenses for the new Community Center project, including outstanding renovations, mortgage and other furnishings. Ms. Bender is a longtime advocate for women´s rights and public health in Naples, located just 40 miles southwest of Immokalee.
Lucas Benitez, a CIW staff member, stated, "We really appreciate Audrey´s kindness in helping us to cover remaining necessary expenses for our long awaited Community Center. She is a wonderful partner in our collective work for justice in the fields." Ms. Bender´s gift pushes the CIW´s total fundraising for the Capital Campaign to $527,500, with another $472,500 to go.
For more information on how to support the CIW´s Capital Campaign, please contact Jordan Buckley at (239) 986 9101 or Jordan@InterfaithAct.org
Sept. 9, 2008: The CIW is happy to share the wonderful news that Deborah Dearborn, a longtime ally from First Congregational United Church of Christ on Sanibel Island, has made a generous gift that will greatly aid the Capital Campaign for the new Community Center. With her $15,000 gift, the CIW will be able to cover costs related to the recent completion of landscaping, a new fence, gate and sprinkler system as well as a parking lot and organic garden.
Eusebio Rodriguez, a tractor driver for an orange company in Lehigh Acres and longtime CIW member, said of the thoughtful donation: "On behalf of the Coalition, we are very pleased and appreciative for the great support she gave us. Thanks to her, now we have a beautiful yard and cool garden in our community center. Thank you, Ms. Dearborn!"
Ms. Dearborn´s gift pushed the CIW past the halfway mark in the million-dollar Capital Campaign for the Community Center. Presently, the CIW has raised $514,000 toward their final goal, but lack another $486,000 to pay for mortgage, further renovations, a radio tower and upkeep expenses.
For more information on how to support the Capital Campaign, contact Jordan Buckley at (239) 986 9101 or Jordan@InterfaithAct.org
 We
have long had a dream of building our own community
center to serve as a truly independent base for our
human rights work in Immokalee. For years it remained
a distant hope to be free of the control of Immokalee’s
over-priced rental market and construct a center spacious
enough to house our ever-growing progam.
In 2004, through the generous help of our allies, we
were able to make a down payment on a plot of land and
building located in the center of Immokalee, just steps
away from the site where thousands of farmworkers board
buses to go to work in the fields each day. We now need
to raise  the
funds to pay the mortgage, renovate the building, and
endow the costs of upkeep and maintenance.
The Community Center will give us the necessary space
to significantly expand our community work – to
nearly double our current capacity for weekly community
meetings, to house our growing radio station, to make
computers and media equipment available to our members
so that they, too, can learn to wield the tools and
reap the benefits of the information age.
The Center is more than “bricks
and mortar.” It is an essential step in our continued
work for dignity and justice in the fields.
.jpg)
Community Room
For weekly community meetings, training sessions, leadership development workshops, cultural events, classes, and more
Anti-Slavery Office
For coordination of CIW’s Anti-Slavery Campaign, including confidential interviews and meetings with victims of human trafficking, the F.B.I., Dept. of Justice, and others
Radio Station Studio
New home of Radio Conciencia (Consciousness Radio) 107.9 FM, the CIW's multi-lingual radio station, which provides the Immokalee community with news, educational and cultural programming, musical entertainment, as well as health, safety and emergency announcements
Cooperative Grocery Store
Expands the CIW’s small, non-profit grocery store that, because it is run cooperatively for the benefit of the community, enables consumers to buy cooking supplies, food, phone cards and toiletries at the most affordable
prices in town
Media Center
For computers, video equipment, and a multi-lingual book/video library
Ally Room
Office and meeting space for CIW´s allies -- including Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida and the Student/Farmworker Alliance -- as well as volunteers
Community Garden and Yard
For gatherings, leadership trainings, movie screenings, organic gardening, and children’s play area
Art Center
To promote artistic expression and for creation of posters, banners, puppets, and more, for use in community education and the Campaign for Fair Food
1. Send a donation via check or money order to:
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers
P.O. Box 509
Immokalee, FL 34143
2. Make a secure donation by clicking the button below:
3. Or, for more information, contact Jordan Buckley by email at jordan(at)interfaithact.org or by phone, 239 986 9101
|
May 2009: Joan and Buck Blessing´s Gift Brings Dream of Community Center Closer within Reach
January 28, 2009: First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove, IL Makes Generous Donation to the New Community Center in Immokalee
Nov. 25, 2008: Longtime Naples Community Activist Audrey Bender Makes Gift to Community Center