Photos by David Monical.
NorCal Resilience Network is launching a crowdfunder campaign in the coming few days. Stay tuned to donate to our campaign, which will provide direct support to BIPOC-led, on-the-ground resilience projects. Read below to learn about a previous project that we have supported, and will continue to support through the crowd funding campaign.
The Oakland Peace Center made tremendous progress on their Black-led garden initiative and living food pantry this summer. After receiving funding through a Resilience Hub mini-grant from the NorCal Resilience Network, and with additional volunteer support, the Peace Center has created a much-needed healing space for their community to connect to the land.
In addition to being a resilience hub in the NorCal Resilience Network, the Oakland Peace Center (find them on Twitter and Facebook here) is a community center that houses forty Bay Area organizations– primarily led by people of color– and works to foster disaster preparedness and racial justice in their community. One of their core values is to build “strong connections among [communities] so that everyone is welcome, receiving care and compassion from those around them,” in the words of Malaika Parker, their Development Consultant.
According to Parker, the garden is a community hub that exemplifies community nourishment, connectedness, and resilience, and was designed as a space to offer healing for community members most impacted by oppression. This includes providing spaces and resources to low-income folks in their immediate neighborhood, emphasizing support towards people of color.
What we are building is centered in a long view of what is possible when we care for one another
Malaika Parker, OPC Development Consultant
With the uncertainty and troubles of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oakland Peace Center rose to the occasion to support their community. Tripling their volunteer engagement, the garden became a site of weekly volunteer-led grocery delivery for community members in need. This, paired with the support of the NorCal Resilience Network mini-grant, allowed the garden to get more food out to more people. The grant also provided the resilience hub with additional materials for the garden, including soil, planting materials, and safety measures for volunteers.
Looking towards the future, Parker notes that they are planning on extending the garden to have more edible plants, building an ADA garden, and adding a butterfly garden. They are also planning to add a food pantry for canned goods. “What we are building is centered in a long view of what is possible when we care for one another,” she adds insightfully. Through the support of volunteer members, donations, and the hard work of the Oakland Peace Center team, these plans can all be realized.
As mentioned above, the NorCal Resilience Network is launching a crowdfunder campaign to support Resilience Hubs including the Oakland Peace Center. It is imperative to invest in grassroots projects, resilience hubs, and people-powered regenerative solutions, led by and for BIPOC communities, to combat the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental injustices, systemic racism, and other inequities in our community. Please stay tuned to find out how you can donate!