BOTP is committed to extending our generosity into the Santa Cruz community at large. At the present time we are offering our support to the Center for Farm Worker Families in the following ways.
OAXACAN FARMWORKER FAMILY COMMUNITY SUPPLY SHED
A way to express our gratitude to those who gather the food we put daily on our table.
Today in the beautiful California Central Coast, farmworkers and their families are struggling to survive. With an income of $5-8/hour farmworker families live in poverty. Only 10% of children of migrant farmworkers graduate from high school. The average life expectancy for a farmworker in America is 49 years. The U.S. EPA estimates that 300,000 farmworkers are poisoned by pesticides each year nationwide; many cases are never reported.
Here’s how you can participate:
Sangha members are invited to contribute to the non-profit Center for Farmworker Families’ [CFF] supply shed to maintain an inventory of everyday supplies the farmworker families need and cannot afford to buy. Farmworker families are in continuous need of the basic household supplies, listed below, especially in the off-season months when there is no work available in the fields.
Our goal is to collect one or two needed items while we do our own shopping. For example, we go to the store with our shopping list, which includes toilet paper, and we pick up two packages — one for ourselves and one for the farmworkers. Another time we may pick up an extra bottle of dishwashing detergent. We’re not asking members to do this EVERY time we shop; rather, periodically we add an extra item to our cart that we know is needed, and the next time we attend a BOTP event, we bring it along and give it to the designated person for that event. This person will then be sure that it gets to the supply shed for the farmworker families. It’s easy and will be so appreciated.
List of the basics that families need:
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Dishwashing detergent
• Laundry detergent
• Baby items, e.g., diapers (especially sizes 5 & 6) and wipes
• Bath and hand soap
• Shampoo
• Rice
• Beans
This is another way to offer dana, to express our gratitude to those who do back-breaking work many months of the year so that our refrigerators are filled. By contributing to the Oaxacan Community Shed, we offer them our support and let them know they are deeply valued and respected.Thanks so much for caring!
Community Service Committee for Bloom of the Present
To learn more about the Center for Family Farmworkers, make a monetary donation or see more ways to contribute please visit; http://www.farmworkerfamily.org/
“Strawberries were too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe ones bruised at even too heavy a human touch. It hit her then that every strawberry she had ever eaten — every piece of fruit — had been picked by callused human hands. Every piece of toast with jelly represented someone’s knees, someone’s aching back and hips, someone with a bandanna on her wrist to wipe away the sweat. Why had no one told her about this before?”
– Alison Luterman, “What They Came For” (from the Sun Magazine)
BOTP also celebrates the holidays with a Farm Worker Family gift giving party in December. Stay tuned to learn how you can join in.