Freedom Walks for Justice in Woodstock Calls for Latino Vote Participation

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in McHenry County will hold a Freedom Walks for Justice rally and march on Woodstock Square on Saturday, November 2 beginning at 1 pm.  LULAC members, friends, and supporters will walk as a group for one mile on the sidewalks around the Square with one message:  “We walk, Mobilize, and Vote.”

The program will begin with a rally around the Gazebo on the Square at 1 pm featuring Latino voices for political empowerment and civic participation at a time when Brown communities are under stress and attack.  Voter registration and political involvement will be stressed.

Maggie Rivera of LULAC.

Maggie Rivera of LULAC and longtime McHenry County Latino leader who will be the on-stage host of the program noted that, “November 2 is also the second day of the traditional Day of the Dead celebration, one of our most important and festive cultural celebrations.  We will use the occasion to remind ourselves and the wider population that despite attacks on our communities and on immigrants, we are not dead and will make our growing power be felt in upcoming elections.”

The local event is just many marches across the U.S. that began in Washington, D.C. on October 3 and will conclude in the same city on November 3.  Altogether there were 15 major marches in cities with large immigrant and Latino populations including six in Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Charlottesville, Virginia with scores of local marches like the one in Woodstock.

Freedom Walks for Justice pays “homage to the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement and mobilizes diverse communities around the country facing the same threat—hate and injustice.  The most powerful tool we have to combat systematic discrimination is the ballot box and that is why Freedom Walks mobilizes and registers voters, encouraging our communities to have a voice,” said Sindy Benavides, national CEO of LULAC.

LULAC is the oldest and largest nation organization for Latino citizens.

The Social Justice Team of the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry is a partner in the local effort.

For more information call Patrick Murfin at 815 814-5645 or visit the Facebook Event.

Tree of Life UU Congregation—Open Hearts and Hands Up to the Community

The Second Sunday collections at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry are opportunities to support partner organizations that serve the community in ways consistent with UU values.  A worthy organization receives the cash and designated checks from the offering at services on the second Sunday of the month.  Most recipients represent long standing commitments which extend beyond monetary gifts to include volunteer and service opportunities.  Two recent examples illustrate how it works.

Members and friends of the Tree of Life raised $463 for TLS Veterans which provides essential services to McHenry County Veterans from its November Second Sunday collection.  TLS services include New Horizons Transitional Living housing in Hebron, personal and employment counseling, and support groups.   Pictured right to left are Army National Guard Veteran Jeff Rothermel, TLS case manager Sean Merchant, TLS Executive Director Laura Franz, and Tree of Life Social Justice Team Co-chair Sue Rekenthaler.

Tree of Life members contributed over $500 to Toby’s Fund for Women’s Health, which is managed by the McHenry County Citizens for Choice Education Fund (MCCC EF). Toby’s Fund, which helps McHenry County women in need of financial assistance to secure abortion services, was initiated by Toby’s six children of Marengo businesswoman Toby Levin to honor the memory of their mother, a committed supporter of MCCC.  Pictured are MCCC EF board members Robert Levin, Mary Ewert, and Dee Manny with Irene Raven, Sue Rekenthaler, and Patrick Murfin of the Tree of Life Social Justice Team.