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Send Natalia to LULAC National

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Hello all!

Thanks for stopping by. As many of you know I have been working on continued community engagement and leadership development for some time now.

For the past year and a half or so I've been volunteering a great amount of time to the non profit I co-founded, the Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project, (www.communitybondproject.org) a charitable 501c3 whose mission is to help pay bond for immigrants detained by ICE. My work as volunteer board member and community affairs director for EICBP has allowed me the opportunity to work across various stakeholders and offered me the ability to continue building relationships with advocates and activists from Iowa and beyond. I've been a tried and true advocate for social justice for many years, including almost 8 years of breaking down barriers to health care for the uninsured and underinsured and my work for 4 years with improving environment/sustainability and decreasing transportation barriers as dedicated volunteer with the Iowa City Bike Library.  I cannot tell you how much my life is revolved around giving my time to others. I'm asking you guys for help now.

After 32 years of working through the U.S.'s broken immigration system I finally became a U.S. Citizen in 2015. My dedication to civic engagement and building Latino engagement will continue to keep growing.

For the past year and a half or so I've also been involved with the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC Council 308 (https://www.facebook.com/lulac308/), based out of Iowa City. Each year, LULAC National (www.lulac.org) holds a national convention and this year it is being held in Phoenix, AZ. The conference allows LULAC members to network with approximately 15,000 LULAC members and otherwise from across the nation. July 17th-18th there is a women's conference and the 18th-21st there is a general convention which covers the following topics:

■ Civic Engagement ■ Civil Rights ■ Climate Change ■ Diversity ■ Education ■ Employment ■ Entrepreneurship ■ Financial Management ■ Health Care ■ Housing ■ Immigration ■ Latina Empowerment ■ Leadership ■ Media ■ Public Service ■ Technology

https://lulac.org/convention/

As tough as it is to admit, I'm currently in between employment. For reasons beyond my control, the Iowa City Community School District CUT my Program Manager position for the school-based health clinics without offering me any other role within the district. I've been applying for roles outside of the state of Iowa as I've found little that is in my arena of interest within the state. That said, I have yet to land a new gig. It's been a tumultuous time however I have faith that a great fit will arrive with patience and perseverance. Thankfully I have a solid family, community and friends systems who remind me of my value and contributions to this world and to keep up the good fight. I'm also not ashamed of where I am at because I shouldn't be. It's all in my life plan.

I'm an incredibly driven individual who is compassionate in all the work I do and have been honored to have met people from all walks of life through both my community-based health care experience, various advocacy and activism roles, and immigrant rights experience. I would like the opportunity to go to the LULAC conference and make national connections with fellow changemakers within the Latinx community.  I am dedicated, strong-willed and while I am a bit more introverted than many outspoken leaders, believe you me...I'm taking notes. 

The cost for the general registration is $300
The cost of the women's conference is $100

I'm hoping to come up with $400 by early bird registration by 6/19/18. I will need at least an additional $600 for hotel and airfare bringing my goal to $1000.

Thank you for any help that you can give me.  I encourage each of you to keep shooting for the stars and take the time to volunteer for a cause you care about- you never know whose life you will make an impact in. 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

With much love and resistance! 

Natalia
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Donations 

  • Direct Impact Fund
    • $1,000
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Natalia Espina
Organizer
Iowa City, IA

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