First and foremost, thank you to every single one of you for visiting my Fundraising page!

It is with great joy that I inform you that I will be part of the SAF’s (Student Action with Farmworkers) team once again. I participated in the Into the Fields Internship back in 2016 and I will be returning as a Fellow right after I get back from a service trip in Africa.

I decided to apply for a fellow position with SAF because through the internship I completed two years ago I was able to see the impact of the program, not only for the farmworkers receiving services, but for the students participating in the program. It was a life changing experience that thought me the importance of being an advocate for the communities we consider ourselves a part of. It taught me that, a 15-21 year old in-school or out-of-school youth can teach you so much about perseverance, hard work, and sacrifice. It thought me that a group of strangers can turn out to be some of the greatest friends you will ever have. Finally, it thought me that the way to combat oppression and injustice is by joining forces with those who will not conform and want to make a change.    

On a more personal level- The farmworker movement is something that hits home closely. Although I did not experience working in the fields, many family members did, and for a long time. When I entered St. Edward’s as a CAMP (College Assistance Migrant Program), I met many who did, and when I interned with SAF, I met many more. With many people whom I care about having experienced the difficulties of agricultural labor, I realized how important the issue was for me and how much I wanted to make a difference.            

To remind some of you, and inform some new people, SAF is an organization that strives to educate and connect students to the farmworker movement. They do so in many ways, including internships, fellowships, offering mentorship and support to middle, high school, and college students, and raising awareness about farmworkers in the agricultural industry.

As a fellow, I will be working with Vecinos in Cullowhee, NC. Vecinos is a farmworker health program with the mission of “improving the lives of farmworkers and their families by offering mobile medical services and health education, along with advocating for farmworker rights” -Vecinos

 I will be spending 5 months contributing to their efforts in fulfilling this mission. However, before doing that I need to raise $850 to help SAF continue their fight for farmworker justice. If you want to help me out on this mission, please consider donating by clicking the green “DONATE” button at the top.