Immigrants Rising Provides Direct Aid and Leadership Training to Central Valley Community
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tony Choi | tony@immigrantsrising.org | (201) 308-3934
Central Valley Receives Aid and Leadership Training as Part of California Campus Catalyst Fund
(June 11, 2021 – San Francisco) – As immigrant communities face the brunt of the fallout from COVID-19, Immigrants Rising is proud to be providing direct financial support and continuing to foster leadership in the undocumented community of California’s Central Valley.
A three-year initiative, The California Campus Catalyst Fund provides grants and technical assistance to colleges and universities so they can develop a support structure for undocumented students oncampuses across the state. Through this initiative, Immigrants Rising has been working with five college campuses in the Central Valley. The partnerships and relationships built with these campuses has allowed Immigrants Rising to assist undocumented students to continue their higher education journeys during these particularly challenging times.
“Students who are undocumented face many challenges to get to and through college,” said Victor García, Ed.D, Director of California Campus Catalyst Fund. “These challenges were and continue to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that these grant awards will help recipients cover some of their education and living expenses so they can persist through their academic programs.”
In addition to providing $500 in direct cash relief assistance to each of the 300 recipients, Immigrants Rising is preparing to welcome a cohort of rising undocumented student leaders from the Central Valley who will participate in a leadership development fellowship for the next six months. The fellowship consists of mentorship, technical assistance, and project development programming to develop the leadership skills the fellows need to serve as conduits for change in the Central Valley and beyond.
“The financial support will help me meet my educational goals because it takes away the stress of having to think that I won’t be able to pay for my textbooks or for any material that I need for my online classes as well as for the internet that we need to pay for monthly,” said a grant recipient from Reedley College.
This cash relief grants and fellowship program is made possible by support from The California Endowment and Jorge Ramos. The California Campus Catalyst Fund is made possible by the support of Chavez Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, Crankstart, ECMC Foundation, Grove Foundation, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Ginnie and Peter Haas, Jr. Fund, Heising-Simons Foundation, Hellman Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Kelson Foundation, Loud Hound Foundation, NextGen America, and Weingart Foundation.
Founded in 2006, Immigrants Rising transforms individuals and fuels broader changes. With resources and support, undocumented young people are able to get an education, pursue careers, and build a brighter future for themselves and their community.
