08/20/2021
Last week we had the privilege to welcome Pima County Supervisor of District 5, Adelita Grijalva , to Amity Foundation's Circle Tree Ranch - Amity Foundation Campus.
Thank you, Supervisor Grijalva, and your team, Elvira Suarez Din, Samantha Neville, and Nicholas McCullough, for visiting us, touring the grounds, and learning more about our work to help improve the lives of individuals right here in Tucson and abroad.
We know that many people right here in our communities need support with housing, substance abuse treatment, and much more, and together, collectively, we could impact many others in need. But, we would also like to offer our support in the larger community--to be of service if needed.
Margaret Mead tells us, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Onward...
08/20/2021
At the beginning of July, we were fortunate to host the Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Southern Arizona , Magdalena Verdugo, and two other fantastic community builders, the Executive Director of the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, Adriana Gallego, and Junior Roman of Great Western Bank.
A few months back, I toured the YWCA, Tucson, and spoke with Magdalena about ways the YWCA and Amity Foundation could partner. Having known Magdalena for some time, I know that she is passionate about her work and a champion in this community. I appreciate the Y's mission; "Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women and Promoting Peace, Justice, Freedom, and Dignity for All." So, I invited her to come by and visit us and speak to women at Circle Tree Ranch about the services they offer and build that bridge between our organizations for continued support services for our women when they complete Amity.
It was a bonus to have Adriana and Junior join her for a visit. We were also able to show them our students’ art room and the artwork some of them are working on. In addition, a few students were working in there and showed off some of their creations with us.
Thank you, Magdalena, for opening up about your journey, making it safe for our students to also open up. Your powerful and captivating story inspired hope in some of our students. A few have asked about you and look forward to visiting once they finish here at Amity.
09/03/2020
Join us this Friday September 4th at 12pm PT for, “Returning Home Well: Public/Private Partnerships in Reentry Support”
Our host, and Executive Director, Sam Lewis will be joined this week by Doug Bond, CEO of the The Amity Foundation, Aly Tamboura, Justice & Opportunity Initiative Manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Jessica Fernandez from the Division of Rehabilitative Programs at CACorrections (CDCR), Kevin Hoffman, Deputy Director of Program Operations at CDCR, Samra Haider, Executive Director of Programs at the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), and ARC community member, Deshonnte Jones, to discuss the newest effort to provide comprehensive reentry support for our community members returning home.
Last week, philanthropies and nonprofits joined the State of California and Governor Gavin Newsom to announce “Returning Home Well”, a new public-private partnership that provides essential services — like housing, health care, treatment, transportation, direct assistance, and employment support — for Californians returning home from prison after July 1, 2020. In this week’s Fireside Chat, we’ll convene with these leaders and one of our community members who came home last month to discuss how government agencies, foundations, and community-based organizations can work together to ensure people are supported and assisted as they are released from prison.
Register here: bit.ly/ARCWell
09/03/2020
Returning Home Well supports thousands of returning citizens
New $30M partnership with State of California, philanthropy & nonprofits will support critical services for people coming home from prison during COVID-19.
11/25/2020