Border Community Alliance's mission is dedicated to bridging the border and fostering community through education, collaboration and cultural exchange. |
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BCA is Springing into April with the Arizona Gives Day Fundraiser!
By: Magda Mankel,
BCA Education & Research Specialist
The BCA Team is looking to its Spring programming season. Like buzzing bees we are zooming right into the excitement of the season by participating in our first Arizona Give Day on April 6!
Although 2020 was a harsh year, we are ready to bounce back with new tools and lessons learned. But most of all, we are looking forward to sustaining our virtual learning opportunities while also slowly moving back into in-person programming. Please stay tuned as we journey into a new normal. We look forward to seeing your virtual presence on Arizona Gives Day!
What is Arizona Gives Day?
Why Participate & What is BCA’s strategy?
Although the Arizona Gives portal is open year round, Arizona Gives Day comes but once each year! On April 6, the more than 20,000 nonprofits in Arizona will be given the opportunity to enter some friendly competition and win prizes. We believe that our dedicated members, donors, partners, sponsors, family, and friends have the energy to make this AZ Gives Day an exciting one, so please join us and put us in the running to earn some prizes!
Some examples of prizes include:
Gives Day Leaders: Most dollars raised by a Micro, Small (*thats us!), Medium, or Large nonprofit.
Power Hours: Most Dollars Raised & Most unique Donation of a minimum one dollar amount per hour (24 prizes available)
How do I donate?
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Create an Account Profile here
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Go to BCA’s Profile Page https://www.azgives.org/BorderCommunityAlliance
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Click the Donate button
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Follow the Prompts and “Add to Cart”
- If you have not done so already, you will be asked to “Create an Account”
- Check out using your credit card information. (The AZ Gives website is secure and trustworthy.)
How will my donation make a difference?
The funds will directly support our existing programs and help us develop new ones. If you enjoy attending the Borderland Forum, Spanish Classes, or Borderlands Literature and Film Circle, now is the time to show your appreciation for the work that BCA does to bridge the border and foster community. Through these donations, BCA also hopes to further develop our newest project which is a series of cookbooks on Sonoran Gastronomy. We are working closely with Chef Minerva Orduño Rincón and look forward to debuting this endeavor in the last week of April.
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Prize to one Lucky Donor:
As an extra incentive, BCA will be randomly selecting one Arizona Gives Day donor to receive two tickets to the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Tour.
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SJBMS & BCA/FESAC in the National News Media |
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On the evening of March 24th alongside Alma Cota de Yañez, director of BCA's Mexican community foundation partner organization FESAC, BCA program director Alex La Pierre brought journalist Chris Stewart of ABC to the San Juan Bosco Migrant Shelter so that they might see first hand how borderlands civil society have stepped up to provide for those most vulnerable and marginalized.
To see the video broadcasted by ABC affliliates, including locally (KGUN9) click here.
In this case, stepping up for nearly 4 decades, without closing their doors for a single day (even through a pandemic) is the Louriero family. A family whose members including Gilda Esquer Felix Louriero have regular 9-5 jobs and who open up the shelter every night providing hot meals, safety, hope and shelter. It is humanity in action, inspiring to take in and BCA has been privileged to be able to share with the public on the nonprofit's Nogales cross border tours. While we haven't been able to bring the public to see for themselves this amazing NGO for a year due to the global health crisis, we hope this report gives you a glimpse of what it is like and will hopefully inspire you to become a social investor in this cornerstone of the border community.
You can strengthen this tireless family's efforts day in and day out by making a tax deductible designated donation to the San Juan Bosco Migrant Shelter via BCA's Mexico Pass Through program here: www.bordercommunityalliance.com/donate
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An Update from BAN Nogales (Banco de Alimentos) FOOD BANK 2021 |
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“The Mexican community has channeled a lot of food to us, tons of food in terms of rice and beans. We received a donation from NIKE, a donation of a truck. The food bank has a new car, known as a "ton." This was a result of participating in a national level grant opportunity and we brought the car, a new model (2020 or 2021), with a refrigerated box.”
You can continue to contribute to improving food security in our border community of Nogales by donating to BAN through BCA’s Mexico Pass Through here: www.bordercommunityalliance.org/donate
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Get to know the diversity and distinctiveness of nature, history and culture in our region's Santa Cruz River watershed!
Join us on this nonprofit day tour where we will explain and interpret the cultural, historical and natural significance of the Santa Cruz Valley to the public by way of a special itinerary of site visits. Acknowledging our unique local heritage resources in the Sonoran Desert, this day trip will weave together a colorful tapestry around the themes of culture, nature and history in Tucson and Santa Cruz County.
- Lunch and access to various site visits included.
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Pandemic protocols will be in place for this tour, including required mask, social distancing and use of guests own vehicle for transportation from site to site.
- Limited to 12 guests.
- April 9, 2021: Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Tour (SOLD OUT)
Detailed itinerary information and map will be provided a week prior to the date of the tour via email with registration. For questions, please write alex@bordercommunityalliance.org
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April Borderlands Forum Virtual Programming
We invite you to register, participate and make a donation towards the nonprofit to support our cultural programming!
If you need help registering for this event or if you've never done an online class before and want a little coaching, please call Suzy at
520-398-3229
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The State of US Immigration
by Alyson Ball
Are you confused by the recent changes to the U.S. immigration system? Over the last few years, the U.S. has reduced the number of family-reunification immigrants, work-related visas, refugees, and asylum-seekers. We will explore what changes Biden is making to immigration, how these changes will affect our economy and our national security, what Americans think about immigrants, and how you can get involved in immigration issues – nationally or locally.
Virtual Conversation / Q&A Session on
(With RSVP, link to Zoom meeting provided via email the day prior to the event)
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Beyond Border Spectacle: A History of Race & Relations in Chinese Mexican Tucson
by Dr. Grace Peña Delgado
This talk is about the history of community ties and race in the making of southern Arizona borderlands. Dr. Grace Peña Delgado will explore why kin, kith, and interethnic relationships among Chinese and Mexican fronterizos (border people) were a critical mitigating force against anti-Asian hatred. Professor Delgado will also connect this episode of history to the current crisis at our southern border.
Virtual Presentation / Q&A Session on
(With RSVP, link to Zoom meeting provided via email the day prior to the event)
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Water Rights in Arizona Under the Old Laws of Spain and Mexico
by Michael M. Brescia, Ph.D.
Since the mid-1800s, two international treaties have obliged the United States to protect the property rights of Mexicans and Native Americans living in a region of North America that once belonged to Mexico. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase provide important constitutional guarantees that often have proven difficult to fulfill. Historians called upon to serve as expert witnesses are forced to deal with the differences between history and law as disciplines, not to mention the stress that accompanies the adversarial system of justice in the United States. Historian Michael Brescia will explain the difficult historical and legal issues involved in certain disputes over natural resources throughout Arizona and the West, with an assessment of the enduring impact of Spanish colonialism and U.S. expansionism on North America.
Virtual Conversation / Q&A Session on
(With RSVP, link to Zoom meeting provided via email the day prior to the event)
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Interview by Dar Goatley
How did you come to be on the Board of BCA?
I sought out the opportunity. I moved to Tubac in 2019 and had attended a BCA Mexican History Class and was impressed with the perspective that Alex La Pierre, BCA Program Director, presented in the class. I had also attended the BCA Interns presentation.
What was it about the mission of BCA inspired your interest?
I appreciate that the BCA philosophy is to ease people into the Mexican culture. They learn about the culture via experiencing the food and music and history of Mexico. I think it is also important to help Americans understand the issues that Mexican citizens face.
What life experiences do you bring to BCA?
I have had a career teaching educational leadership at California State University. Prior to that I was a public school teacher, a principal and a superintendent. I also have experience being on other boards and reporting to boards. I was raised and lived for many years in Laredo, Texas, a border town. I have a Mexican heritage and a personal interest in advancing knowledge of the Mexican culture.
How do you think that BCA contributes to advancing humanitarian efforts in Mexico?
BCA promotes social investment in Mexico, by sharing knowledge and helping people in Mexico help themselves. There is a huge discrepancy in the poverty and health care from Nogales, Mexico to just over the border in Nogales, Arizona and beyond. I think that helping people help themselves is a valuable pursuit.
How would you like to see BCA move into the future?
I think that it is very important for BCA to explicitly acknowledge that racism is an integral part of US - Mexican history and that racism and oppression of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans persists. While it is wonderful that the communities of Tubac and Green Valley enjoy the culture of Mexico, many have limited understanding as to the life of those in Mexico or even of Mexican-Americans. I hope that BCA can hep to advance an understanding of racism as it relates to those with a Mexican heritage.
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Office Hours:
Office open by appointment only until further notice.
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Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1863
Tubac, AZ 85646
Physical Address (no mail):
I-19 2221 E. Frontage Rd.
Bldg F Suite 201-202
Tubac, AZ 85646
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Office
Membership/Events: 520-398-3229
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