Dear Friends,
Every day, we are fortunate to see how transformative our programs are for our community members.
Take Victor, for example. A member of our
Day Labor Program
since 2001, Victor has taken advantage of many of our programs while working full time as a laborer. Today, Victor is one step closer to realizing his dream of becoming a licensed contractor. With one-on-one support from Monument Impact’s Workforce Manager, Elba Velasquez, Victor is working towards taking the contractor’s exam and Elba, who leads our Emerging
Business Support Program
, is assisting him in establishing and formalizing his business.
Or María, a 73-year old participant in our group-based mental health program,
Mentes Positivas en Acción (MPA)
. Suffering from stress and depression, María’s extreme panic attacks kept landing her in the hospital. In the past year, after taking our MPA 8-week class, she has learned how to manage her stress, is happier and, gratefully, hasn’t been back to the emergency room. [See our profile of
Lorena Cruz
who leads our MPA program.]
Alex is a graduate of our 2018
leadership class
. He learned so much that he asked to have the class offered to parents at Meadow Homes Elementary School where he served as President of the PTA. Importantly, Alex has taken a lead role in successfully advocating for new district maps at the Mt. Diablo Unified School District that keep the Monument Corridor intact as a community of interest. He also serves on our local leadership council for
Stand Together Contra Costa
.
These are just a few examples of the transformations that happen every week at Monument Impact. We encourage you to get involved! Volunteers and donors have been the drivers of so many of our successes. For more information, contact Cindy Campos,
cindy@monumentimpact.org.
As always, thank you so much for your support of Monument Impact.
In gratitude,
Debra Ballinger
Executive Director
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“The best thing that happened to me was receiving the opportunity to be part of an organization like Monument Impact, which has helped me grow as a person, given me the tools to learn, listen and most importantly support many community members”
-Lorena Cruz
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Meet Lorena Cruz
In Concord’s Monument Corridor, pretty much everyone has heard of Lorena Cruz, even if they haven’t yet met her. Lorena is Managing Consultant for Monument Impact’s Healthy Community Programs. An expert trainer and acclaimed health promoter, Lorena has helped develop and grow Monument Impact’s base of promotores—trained community members who facilitate our Healthy
Community
Programs like
Mentes
Postivas en Acción
(MPA) that provides a safe environment to teach techniques to reduce stress and depression, and
Monument Moves
,
which offers free physical activity in the Monument Corridor parks.
Originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Lorena attended the University of Guadalajara and earned a degree in preschool education. This is where her love of teaching and helping others began.
Lorena began her involvement with Monument Impact in 2008 when she moved to Concord. She joined a program called Community Listeners where she was given the opportunity to learn about her neighbors and the needs of the community. “To me being part of a community means everything. I come from a small town where everyone knows each other,” Lorena said. “That’s what I love about the Monument. When I learned about Monument Impact, I wanted to get more involved. I knew this organization would allow me to learn more about my community and how together we could help create a safer environment.”
When asked what sparked her interested in joining Monument Impact, she responded “Our community faces many challenges on a daily basis and being an immigrant is difficult. Going out to my community and share programs such as
MPA
and
Monument Moves
provides a network of support, information and resources that many community members wouldn’t get elsewhere.”
Today Lorena is widely recognized in the community by local residents and businesses alike. “Lorena is a role model and community leader,” said Debra Ballinger, Monument Impact’s Executive Director. “She is as enthusiastic at connecting community members to our workforce, leadership development and other programs as she is at teaching healthy cooking skills. Her unwavering goal is to make sure the entire community has the opportunity to thrive.”
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We are excited to announce that this month we began our very first Mentes Positivas en Acción classes in Pittsburgh through a partnership with
Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD)
. Held at Willow Cove Elementary, we have two classes currently in session with a total of 20 participants. These classes were open to all parents of Pittsburg Unified School District.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce our first MPA class in Antioch at the
Family Justice Center’s
brand new East Contra Costa location. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, we are excited to offer MPA to Family Justice Center’s clients in Antioch. The class is fully enrolled.
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Trainings, workshops and more
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Mark Your Calendars!
Our 3rd Annual Stronger Together Gala will be held Thursday,
More details to follow.
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Get involved!
We are seeking volunteers to help us better serve our community. Multiple opportunities available.
Paid
Internship opportunity
available. Find out how you can make a difference.
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Hire a Day Labor Worker!
Walk-ins welcome: Monday through Saturday 6:00-10:00AM- 2699 Monument Blvd, Suite G.
By phone 925-682-8248 Ext.2100 or by
email.
For rates and more information visit our
website.
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