Celebrating 30 Years of Funding Grassroots Movements

On Thursday, April 30, North Star Fund  celebrated 30 amazing years of donor organizing and grantmaking in support of grassroots movements and activism at our annual Community Gala.

For six years, I have had the honor and privilege of heading up this amazing organization that brings people together across the barriers that divide us to find and invest in the most talented grassroots organizers in the New York metro area.

On the morning before the Community Gala, this year's wonderful honorees came together over breakfast to share their stories, their history with North Star Fund, and what message they'll share when presented with their award at our big event at Tribeca Rooftop.

One of our honorees is an amazing new grantee partner called VAMOS Unidos, which organizes predominately Latino immigrant food vendors throughout the city. Because of immigration and licensing laws, too many of the group's members work in constant fear of being harassed, abused, arrested and deported.

Most VAMOS Unidos members came from Mexico and South American countries as a direct result of U.S. policies which have crippled their home economies. Street vending provides an income with flexibility so they can care for their families -- many vendors are single mothers who would otherwise have no source of income.

Listening to the women of VAMOS Unidos speak, I was reminded of another awful installment in the saga of failed immigration reform in the U.S. It's the story of Encarnacion Bail Romero, the immigrant worker and mom who was locked up and lost her son following a raid on her workplace in Missouri. The story of her plight appeared in the New York Times last week.

What kind of country are we when our judges deny basic human rights to women such as Encarnacion?

It is so important to support North Star Fund who finds and supports fledging groups like Vamos Unidos. And it is important to fund them directly too! VAMOS Unidos and all of North Star Fund's grantees are leading the movement to empower people like Encarnacion to stand up and demand their constitutional rights regardless of immigration status.

So do check out our website, and the other amazing grassroots organizing and activist groups and movements that we support. Even if you can't join us at tomorrow's night's celebration, take action and make a donation. We are all in this great mess together. Last year's election showed us the potential for change in a nation where we look out for each other, respect each other's rights and build a legitimate grassroots democracy grounded in the common good.