Private grants help out workers
Foundations give aid to freeze victims
By Natalie Garcia
Staff writer

Private foundations in California have contributed more than a million dollars in donations to Tulare County for freeze relief.

That could be good news for undocumented workers, who are not eligible for help paid for by state or federal dollars.

Ellen Widess of the San Francisco-based Rosenberg Foundation said private non-profit organizations need to step in to handle humanitarian needs that serve the undocumented population as well as legal residents.
"It is really important that philanthropists to step in on this issue," Widess said. "It goes back to the question of a policy in this country that is very schizophrenic. We need skilled workers and we depend on them, but we don't have a way for them to become legal members of society."

While state and federal dollars must be filtered through layers of bureaucracy before they reach those affected by the January freeze, donations from foundations can be put to use in the time it takes to hand over a check.

Local and private donations are crucial to soften the blow of the citrus freeze fallout, which resulted in about $418 million in fruit losses and left 12,000 Tulare County farm workers unemployed, said the Tulare County Freeze Relief Task Force.

"There is a growing reality that no federal aid is immediately available," said Eric Coyne, a spokesman for the task force. "Even if it was approved today, it would take months for it to get here. Raising money through foundations is a top priority of the task force."

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein acknowledge the sluggish pace of federal aid coming to California during a tour of an Exeter packing house and orange grove on April 2, telling the agricultural community not to expect any help for at least six months.

Several California foundations have already stepped up to provide some instant relief to Tulare County residents left without a harvest to pick and pack.

So far, a handful of foundations have given a total of about $560,000, with the vast majority of the money entrusted to the United Way of Tulare County.

The following entities donated to Tulare County:

# The California Endowment: $391,764

# The James Irvine Foundation: $75,000 (For Tulare and Fresno counties combined)

# The Rosenberg Foundation: $40,000 (for Tulare and Fresno counties combined)

# Bank of America Foundation: $25,000

# Resnick Family Foundation: $20,000

# The California Community Foundation: $10,000

Ernie Hernandez, the executive director of the United Way of Tulare County, said local non-profit organizations identify particular needs to be met when they ask for money.

Those needs have commonly been have food and rental, mortgage and utility assistance.

Some of the largest recipients of private donation money are CSET (Community Service Employment Training ($169,500), Proteus, Inc. ($70,000), FoodLink ($22,600) and Open Gate Ministries ($20,000).

State assistance
At the state level, Governor Schwarzenegger actively responded to the freeze with pledges of aid in the form of food, housing assistance, small business loans, health care and social services.

So far, Tulare County has received $1,684,656 from the state, said Nancy Loliva of the freeze relief task force.

The legal issue of providing aid to undocumented workers does present a predicament for the task force, which receives public and private money, Coyne said.

The organization's makeshift solution has been to adopt a "don't ask, don't tell attitude" on legal status of aid recipients and is willing to help all people in need, Coyne said.

By channeling relief money through non-profit agencies like FoodLink, Coyne said aid gets to undocumented workers.

"That is the difficult tap dance that the task force goes through: "How do you do aid?" he said.

Other loopholes include providing rental and mortgage assistance to households were one resident, such as a child or grandparent, has legal status when the rest of the household doesn't.

# The reporter can be reached at ngarcia@visalia.gannett.com.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/p ... /704100346

Below are some of the "outreach" agencies involved! They should just raise money to buy them bus tickets to go back home.

How to help

# To donate to United Way of Tulare County, call (800) 283-9323.

# To donate to the Tulare Salvation Army, call 687-2520.

# To donate to FoodLink, call 651-3663.

Tulare County has two one-stop-assistance sites for those affected by the freeze.

They offer help with unemployment insurance, job placement and training and referrals for other help, such as food stamps and utility payment assistance.

The sites:

# The Dinuba Vocational Center, 199 North L St., 591-5065

# The Porterville Employment Connection Center, 1063 West Henderson Ave., 788-1400.

The United Way offers information and referral services for people affected by the freeze. The number: (800) 283-9323.

For information on food stamps, Medi-Cal and other health-related issues, call the Tulare County Department of Health and Human Services at (800) 834-7121.