I have been working very hard and very closely with Community Action Partnership of Kern and now I feel as though their logo is burned into my heart. I got to participate in events and speak to the amazing people from all sides of the organization. At the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration for the Pete Parra Child Development Center, Executive Director Jeremy Tobias said, “She’s basically our honorary media person.”
All that said, what I’ve learned from covering this is that not only is it an organization that does amazing things for the people of our community, but it is run by people who truly care about the community.
When I first met Jeremy, he was not only nice and easy to work with, but he told me about his life growing up in the community and how that inspired him to support it. He was very enthusiastic about their programs, especially the youth focused ones like Head Start and Friendship House.
Later I interviewed Yolanda Gonzales, the Head Start director. She inspired me with her story about coming from migrant parents, dropping out of school to work in the fields, living off of welfare to support her family, and working her way up the chain and education ladder to eventually become the head of a $40 million program.
If there is one thing I learned from this that I hope others take away, it is that there are people in this community who know how hard it is to struggle. And they will not close their eyes to those in need. And after this experience, neither will I.
The B Side 