Volume 52 | March 2019
Your monthly news & updates
Dear Friends ~
A lot is happening in Kern! Check out what's coming up!

9:30 am - 1:00 pm March 30
Don Hart East Lawn
Cal State University, Bakersfield

In tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birthday, th e festival is designed to celebrate Gandhi’s philosophy of peace and non-violence. Take part in a peace march, and enjoy live entertainment, food, and guest speaker Eisha Mason.
Please join the Kern County Complete Count Committee for the kick-off of Kern Counts, which will mark the beginning of our community's Census 2020 efforts to ensure everybody in Kern is counted.

A special press conference will be held April 1 at 10 a.m. outside of the Beale Library located at 701 Truxtun Ave in Bakersfield. April 1 marks the one year out milestone from the Census 2020. 

The KCCC is made up of community leaders, county administrators, and residents working to help bring public awareness of the 2020 Census with a focus on Kern County’s hard-to-count populations.

The 2020 Census count will directly affect representation in Congress and how more than $675 billion in federal funds will be distributed to communities across the country, per year. These federal funds are spent on schools, hospital, roads, public works and other important programs.

We have one chance to get this right- please join us on April 1 to let everyone know that that you support the 2020 Census! 
Kern Women Rising

On March 15-17, more than 20 women from Kern County attended the Grassroots Womxn Rising conference in Fresno hosted by the Women's Foundation, Urban Habitat, and The California Endowment. 

The event brought together about 400 girls and women from across California involved in The California Endowment's Building Healthy Communities health equity campaigns. California women rising together to make healthier communities!
Kern Freedom Fund Established
Mesa Verde Detention Center will remain open at least one more year. A deal was brokered between the federal government and the Geo Group that runs Mesa Verde.

To support detainees who are housed there because they cannot afford to post bond prior to their hearing date, the Rapid Response Network of Kern has started raising money assist them in posting bond.

Call For Young Writers!
Deadline Approaching for High School Students!
In celebration of Mahatma Ghandi's 150th birthday, the Rabi and Naina Patel Foundation, in partnership with the local Gandhi Committee for Truth and Non-Violence, is hosting events throughout the year honoring Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence. The celebration began last month with a free screening of Ghandi at the Fox Theater.
 
Submissions are now being accepted from all Kern County high school seniors and all Kern County college students for an essay contest with $1,000 1st place prize and $500 for 2nd place.
 
How to Enter
 
Write a personal essay, in approximately 750 words, that explains what you think Gandhi meant by the quote:  "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind."  Discuss how you think the method of Satyagraha could be applied for solving the problems the world is facing today. Describe examples of what you have done or what you could do to make the world a better place, following Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence.
 
Submit an essay providing your personal interpretation of Gandhi’s quote:
 
High School Seniors:
Deadline: March 31
Submit your essay in pdf format to: gandhiessay@gmail.com
 
College Students:
Deadline: May 30
Submit your essay in pdf format to: gcccollegeessay@gmail.com
Building Healthy Communities| 9000 Stockdale Hwy| Bakersfield| CA| 93309

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