Northend Nonprofits Give Out $15K to 300 Families for Holiday » Holtville Tribune
BRAWLEY — A local nonprofit Northend coalition launched a Thanksgiving campaign to distribute $15,000 to 300 needy families in supplemental cash gifts of $50 for each recipient on Friday morning, Nov. 22, in the Northend areas of Imperial County. The campaign will continue the following week in the West Shores Salton Sea communities.
The coalition includes The Becoming Project, West Shores Advisory Council and Committee and Comite Civico del Valle. The recipients of these cash gifts were carefully selected by the coalition and notified, taking in consideration the recipient’s needy and low-income status. The communities receiving the supplements are Niland, Calipatria, Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea West Shores.
Organizers said this supplemental campaign was inspired by comments from Northend residents at the recent 13th Imperial Valley Environmental Leadership Summit in El Centro. Some residents shared examples of hardships endured by residents in the Northend areas. Coalition organizers were touched by these comments, and among other activities planned to help those communities, they wanted to do something right away for the upcoming holidays, according to a press release.
Niland community advocate April Ochoa said this supplement is to help local needy families during the Thanksgiving holiday. “Many people are not able to provide sometimes even a small round plate of food to the family and these are the holidays that are coming around, and we just want for everyone to be able to share that moment with the family,” Ochoa said.
William Cooper, executive director for The Becoming Project, said, “Everyday on the spectrum, there is housing insecurity, there is food insecurity, healthcare disparity, educational disparity. All of the highest numbers of the negatives and all the lowest numbers of the positives are happening right here in Calipatria and Niland, California.”
Cooper encourages anyone in the community to get involved with a nonprofit helping those in need around them. “Small acts of kindness go a long way. With a little more help, we can drive that kindness a lot further,” Cooper said.
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Comite Civico del Valle Executive Director Luis Olmedo said everyone deserves to have a decent meal, especially during the holidays. He appreciated other agencies and organizations providing turkeys and other assistance during the holidays. He said there are needy people throughout Imperial Valley and he encourages others to do something kind for them.
“We’re very thankful to our board who every year has made it a tradition to go out and provide support during Thanksgiving. It’s just phenomenal to be able to do this. I highly encourage other organizations, or others who can and have the means to go out during this holiday season and support our community,” Olmedo said.
A recent study found that the poverty rate in Imperial County is 79.37 percent higher than the US average. In Imperial County, an estimated 38,933 (22.6 percent) of 172,247 people live in poverty. In the United States, 12.6 percent of 325,521,470 people live in poverty.
