Six to Receive Looking Forward Awards From Santa Barbara County Action Network | Good for Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County Motion Community (SBCAN) will honor 6 men and women and companies for their contributions to the group in the course of its North County Wanting Ahead Awards Meal and Fundraiser, 3-6 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at Blosser Urban Back garden, 915 S. Blosser Road, Santa Maria.

Awards will be presented to Mireya Piña, Sara Macdonald, Wildling Museum, Pastor Chris Brown, Mixteco/Indígena Neighborhood Organizing Venture (MICOP), and Elizabeth Beebe.

» Piña will obtain the Searching Ahead Award.

Born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Piña came to the U.S. as an infant and grew up in a rural town north of Yosemite till she graduated from higher university. She acquired a bachelor’s degree in deaf scientific tests and a minimal in Chicano/a Studies from California Point out University, Northridge (CSUN), and will full her master’s of public health and fitness and group wellbeing education and learning from CSUN subsequent year.

Because starting her function in North County, Piña has proven consistency and leadership by means of various Guadalupe initiatives. This is exemplified by her eyesight and support of the Guadalupe Group Changers, a grassroots local community volunteer team that is priceless to various nonprofits and products and services.

Piña also works for the Family Support Company/The Minimal House by the Park in Guadalupe, connecting dad and mom to several methods, which include foods, housing, counseling, and holistic protection. She leads by illustration and advocates for her team to generate systemic improve and boost Guadalupe residents’ resilience.

As an undocumented specific, she has often been inclined to advocate for herself and other individuals who find on their own in uncertain cases.

» Macdonald will receive the Giving Again Award.

Macdonald supplies a stellar part design when it will come to supplying back again selflessly to the group by means of volunteer activities and local community jobs. If you are at a social justice accumulating or on a social justice webinar, odds are Macdonald also is attending.

As a reduced-wage human being, Macdonald understands the legitimate cost of poverty and the relevance of preserving that issue entrance and heart in doing work for progressive change.

Born and lifted in Santa Maria, Macdonald attended Santa Maria Significant Faculty and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and has a grasp of the region’s history. She has injected new energy into her posture as president of the Democratic Club, and has strategies to enable the community with voter registration and election data.

She has also been concerned in the Central Coastline chapter of the Lousy People’s Marketing campaign. Guided by her deep religion, Macdonald delivers compassion and inclusiveness to those with whom she interacts. She is also prolific when it will come to sharing information and facts, providing the newest on governmental and nonprofit conferences, to assure the local community is well-knowledgeable.

Macdonald’s do the job for progressive modify is in depth she does the perform on the floor and encourages others to join her.

» The Wildling Museum will acquire the Environmental Award.

The Wildling Museum makes use of art to teach and inspire the neighborhood and readers to superior fully grasp and care for dwindling natural and wilderness parts. The museum supplies inventive, educational, and subject encounters of mother nature for that intent. Considering the fact that opening in 2000, the Wildling has had more than 65 exhibitions.

The Wildling’s existing most important show, Fire & Ice: Our Transforming Landscape, characteristics an array of diverse artwork to invite conversations about how significantly regular and extreme fires are altering the landscape. Similarly concerning is the retreat of glaciers and shrinking snowpack and warming permafrost in colder climates.

Neighborhood themes are also highlighted, these types of as the risk direct bullets and microtrash pose to the endangered California condors — who are generating a tenuous comeback just miles to the south — and an show of neighborhood trails with instructions to each individual one.

The museum has taken strides toward sustainability on its possess, including installing solar panels on its constructing, encouraging team to telecommute, participating in the California Green Enterprise method, and taking a guide job in arranging the Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums.

» Mixteco/Indígena Neighborhood Arranging Project (MICOP) will receive the Performing Family members Award.

Commenced in 2001, MICOP began as a immediate effort and hard work to respond to the immediate wants of the Indigenous Mixteco group in Oxnard. 20 decades later on, the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Challenge has developed to getting 20 distinctive plans, several places of work in the course of the Central Coastline in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and has been ready to assistance dozens of indigenous people by advocacy and outreach.

MICOP advocates for labor justice for farmworkers in Santa Maria and Guadalupe, supporting their attempts to receive reasonable wages and doing the job problems.

In the last calendar year, MICOP has been instrumental in building guaranteed farmworkers are informed of COVID-19 ill fork out, and has aided spread recognition about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. The team also advocates for enhanced language entry, community overall health, has several youth programs, and delivers immigration solutions as a result of its program MILA.

» Pastor Chris Brown will receive the Social Justice Award.

In the 7 yrs considering that Brown moved to Solvang, he has turn out to be a core social justice leader. He has produced his formerly possibly sleepy Lutheran Church, with an getting older principally Danish congregation, the center of inclusion and radical acceptance in the group.
 
Brown has led, supported and state-of-the-art justice in local communities, achieving out to those people who are unseen, marginalized, and discriminated against and allows those with privilege understand how to do fewer damage and be superior allies in the fight from racism and discrimination.

Illustrations of Brown’s excellent work are several. He will say it is the function of some others, but he has been instrumental in the church’s food distribution method and blessing box, which presents food items to anyone who requires it, no strings attached. He does this in a way that helps make it simple and snug to acknowledge the aid.
  
Brown speaks about white privilege, racism, antisemitism and discrimination at local rallies, as effectively as to his congregation, and incorporates justice during the operate he does. He builds connection and prevalent ground by offering group creating spaces these types of as Interfaith Thanksgiving which is “open up to anyone of all faiths and none.”

He supports and elevates the perform of Black leaders, leaders of other faiths, tribes, movements, and businesses that progress peace, understanding and justice.

» Beebe will receive the Youth Activist Award.

Beebe is a lifelong resident of Santa Maria. In her sophomore yr of large faculty, she made a decision she wanted to be extra included in her local community, so she joined Induce to tackle LGBTQ+ problems and increase consciousness for the H2A application. Through her time with Cause, she has succeeded in balancing her a lot of commitments whilst getting an accomplished pupil and leader.

Beebe is devoted to knowing the capabilities of society in purchase to better serve the increased great. She has been an advocate of gender equality, immigrant rights, progressive instruction procedures, environmental justice, and the agriculture business. Following faculty, she options to work as an agricultural attorney specializing in immigration and helping H2A personnel.

Exterior of this work, Beebe spends her time boosting cattle and sheep. She also enjoys crocheting and is included in a project to crochet beanies for Ukraine by means of her school.

SBCAN thanks its early sponsors: Blosser City Backyard garden, Dick Mazess, UFCW Neighborhood 770, McCune Foundation, Dick Flacks, The Land Have confidence in for Santa Barbara County, SEIU Local 620, Kathy Sharum and David Dennis, CAUSE, Janet Blevins and Gary Smith, The Fund for Santa Barbara.

Other sponsors are Karen Mayes, Law Office of Marc Chytilo APC, Dr. Robert and Mrs. Louise Hammond, Santa Maria-Lompoc Branch of the NAACP, Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley, and Santa Barbara County Supervisors Das Williams, Joan Hartmann and Gregg Hart. 

For much more information on sponsoring the function, visit sbcan.org or contact [email protected]

Tickets for the supper are $75 for the general general public or $65 for SBCAN associates who obtain them by June 12. Buy tickets at https://sbcan.nationbuilder.com/ncad_2022_function. For more information, go to www.sbcan.org, email [email protected], or call 805-563-0463.