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Dear Friends and Supporters,

 

Thanks to your unwavering support, La Luz Center has become a trusted source of information and vital services for our community. We urgently need your help as we head into what could be the toughest struggle in our 35-year history and in the lives of our neighbors. 

 

The COVID-19 virus is upending our country, our county, and Sonoma Valley. You no doubt have seen the news and know the worst could be yet to come. 

 

Yet this is how I see it: Picture a dense, grey haze off an unfamiliar coast. Through it, you see a light. You hear a foghorn. 

 

That guiding light, that horn, is La Luz. We are here for our community.

 

That’s why we’re re-launching our LA LUZ CRISIS FUND to support our clients. We’ll offer emergency relief funds on a case-by-case basis to the most vulnerable. Those funds might include rental payments, food distribution, and registration assistance for unemployment benefits and food stamps.

 

Just last week, we had 65 requests for help from families whose lives have been upended by the virus. An example:  A new client who worked at a restaurant near the Sonoma Plaza was laid off last week. His wife’s job dropped to part-time. They now find themselves trying to feed their two children, pay rent and utilities. This is a family that has never asked for assistance before. They had no idea how to access food banks or apply for benefits. 

 

It goes to show that life can change in an instant. One call and we were able to connect them to the resources they needed. 

 

Sixty-five requests for help in one week. From people who might work with you or for you. Your neighbors and friends. As the crisis grows the need grows, and we expect that number to double or triple around the first of the month. 

 

Here at La Luz, we are pivoting our staff’s duties and efforts toward assisting every person who contacts us. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the LA LUZ CRISIS FUND to meet the unmet and urgent needs of our community. Our goal is $100 from 1,500 community members.

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Join us!

 

DONATE HERE or make checks payable to: 

La Luz Center

17560 Greger Street

Sonoma, CA 95476

 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do for La Luz. We are here to listen, to comfort and be that light, that beacon of hope for Sonoma Valley.

 

Stay healthy and safe,

 

 

Juan Hernandez, Executive Director

La Luz Center