August 9, 2020: Loving Our Neighbors. Community. Service. These are the values I hold dear and the values we live and breathe at Una Vida. You may know Una Vida primarily for our service-learning trips to the Dominican Republic, but I wanted to take a moment to tell you about all the ways Una Vida also serves our Petaluma community, both year-round and in times of crisis.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many Petaluma community-members found themselves unemployed and struggling to put food on the table. Knowing that our neighbors were facing hunger, we did what we do best: launched into action, mobilizing resources and volunteers to care for our community in the following ways:
Weekly Food Distribution: We’ve been serving about 65 families with weekly food deliveries and have distributed more than 50,000 pounds of food this summer alone
Tuesday Community Market: Every Tuesday from 6-7pm we offer a free drive-through community market where families can access free groceries along with beautiful produce
Emergency Food Pantry: My garage is stocked as an Emergency Pantry so community-members can come by anytime and take what they need
Quarterly “Free Sale”: We’re offering a quarterly “free sale” where people can come “shop” for clothes and shoes at no cost
Countless community-members have stepped up to lend a hand, deliver food, donate food and organize donations. I’ve always loved being a Petaluma resident, and this is more true than ever. Local businesses have stepped up too, and we want to give a shout out to Awesome Bars, Fishman Supply, Lunchette, Cali Gold, Baskin Robbins, Alex’s Ice Cream, Preferred Sonoma Caterers and Grocery Outlet for modeling what it means to invest in community.
I’d love for you to stay engaged in our work. We’ll be sending out a monthly email where you can follow along, hear inspiring stories, and learn how our community is coming together to weave a beautiful safety net for our neighbors.
I’m so glad to be in community with you. We couldn’t do it alone, and we wouldn't want to.
With love,
Lynne