Dear Friends,

First a heartfelt thank you to all of you who found scarce grocery supplies and donated them to help our friends at Bienestar and to those who have contributed funds to the Oregon Food Bank. As Gracie Garcia of Bienestar says, “…please thank the church for the donations. You will never know how much I appreciate all the work…”

As I write, conditions are changing rapidly. The governor has issued a stay-at-home order and many of our friends and neighbors have lost their livelihood. Those with the least resources and living on the margins will suffer more than those of us who have a safety net. Many will lose their jobs and income and either cannot or do not feel safe accessing government assistance.

Because of the governor’s order and care for the community, Bienestar is no longer accepting outside food donations. They are staying at home in an effort to keep us all safe.

I write asking those of you with sufficient income to make monetary donations to help ease economic hardships. In conversation with another congregant I learned that West Hills UU Fellowship will be reaching out to help the clients of the Western Farm Workers Association. There are many places accepting donations: among them First Unitarian Church to support the emergency fund for congregants (click the Donate button), the Oregon Food Bank, and organizations like Bienestar which serve 1000 adults and 1000 children.

Sarah Moll of Bienestar created a specific campaign so that you can be sure your donation goes to a COVID-19 emergency relief effort. You can reach it by going to this url: https://bienestar.kindful.com/?campaign=1060369

You can also reach it through the donation page on the Bienestar website https://bienestar.kindful.com/. Just click on the drop down menu and select the “Emergency COVID-19 Relief” fund. That way they will know what your gift is to be used for.

Thank you again for all you do for immigrant and refugee justice. May all be well and safe from harm.