MCF’s Virtual Poker Tournament
Executive Director’s Corner
On May 6th, the Miguel Contreras Foundation hosted its Donor Recognition and Annual Awards event. The evening gives us the opportunity to extend our family to a virtual stage. We hosted guests from as far away as Sacramento, New York City or from my dear Coachella Valley. The evening was about unity, community, fun, and, frankly, about keeping Miguel Contreras’ legacy alive. Miguel Contreras was a labor leader and a changemaker that opened the open doors of labor to those often left out of the economy.
As we all know, change doesn’t just happen. It reflects the cumulative impact of decades of effort by people like Miguel Contreras and all of our movement leaders. In this spirit, we welcomed the Honorable Herb Wesson Jr. as we presented him with the MCF Community Change Maker Award– for his 30 dedicated years of service to working families in Los Angeles.
MCF held our last gathering over two years ago. During which we spoke about MCF’s good work that was underway, and the great work that was yet to come. We spoke about the importance of community. So much has changed since our last gathering that it’s hard to know where to begin. MCF has changed. Our Los Angeles has changed. Our world has changed.
COVID-19 has revealed the truths that we all already knew. That work and workers are essential, that the most vulnerable families are the hardest hit, and that union jobs save lives. At MCF, within a couple of weeks of the shutdown, we made key structural changes to respond to the moment. These changes led to:
- A broad-based labor partnership that placed 101 entry and 426 displaced workers into good quality jobs through the Apprenticeship Readiness Fund and Hospitality Training Academy
- Distributed over 65,000 pieces PPE to community organizations
- Trained 200+ immigrant workers in a partnership Teamsters 399
- Launching new programming in green manufacturing with United Steel Workers Local 675 and in transportation/logistics with Teamsters 396
I want to thank our partners and our collective amazing staff. And, of course, I want to thank all of our Board of Directors, sponsors, funders and donors. You make our work possible by being flexible and growing your support. As part of this celebration, we prepared a brief video. Please click on the following link to review.
Best Regards,
Jessie Mosqueda
Thank you Sponsors and Donors!
