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NEWS
Community leaders, working with our affiliates, are taking action to make their neighborhoods better places to live. Here is some of the innovative work being done across our network.
OCCCO Awards. Our Local Organizing Committees and community leaders are recognized by other organizations throughout Orange County. View videos of OCCCO Awards on Youtube.
Bishop Flores and 1300 Others Bless Immigration Reform Bus Tour| 2010.
Sunday, March 14, Santa Ana – At Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, over 1300 people of faith stood and joined Most Rev. Cirilo Flores, Auxiliary Bishop of Orange, raising their arms with palms forward, to deliver a special blessing upon three community representatives, sending them forth to march for comprehensive immigration reform in Washington, D.C. (See video coverage of the prayer service on YouTube).
The three blessing recipients – Idalia Servin, Leonel Velazquez, and Eddie Carmona – from Orange County Congregation Community Organization will board the “Change Takes Faith and Action” bus for a cross-country tour with PICO National community organizing affiliates nationwide. They are urging local representatives to take leadership and pass legislation which upholds faith traditions and values, focusing on five principles: family unity; legalization with a pathway to citizenship; passage of the DREAM Act; due process; and workers’ rights.
“[Comprehensive immigration reform] is essential for families to have a stable sense of residence, allowing them to step out of fear and participate more fully in building a healthy community,” says Father Edward Poettgen, Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.
Read the full story on our blog.
GGUMC Celebrates $418,813 Victory for Senior Transportation | 2010. Garden Grove, California – On Sunday, January 31st, 2010, Garden Grove United Methodist Church held a special worship celebration to highlight the partnership that led to the development of a transportation program for seniors in the city. The partnership with Orange County Transportation Authority, the Office On Aging, and the City came together through a grassroots effort from GGUMC leaders, who received help with faith-based community organizing from Orange County Congregation Community Organization.
Read full the story on our blog.
The local organizing ministry at GGUMC holds a public meeting every first Monday of the month at 3 p.m. in Ricker Lounge. With OCCCO, faith-based community organizing is alive and strong in Garden Grove.
Contact Q. Bao Nguyen at 714-931-6041 or bao@occcopico.org.
2009 Highlights and Successes. Our Over the past year OCCCO leaders have achieved some significant victories. View our video in honor of our hard work in 2009.
In 2009, the fiscal impact of our work exceeded $100 million; we trained over 400 leaders and brought in 75 new leaders; held 10 public actions, attended by over 1,700 residents; secured 2 major policy wins; held listening campaigns; sent leaders to Sacramento and D.C; and more.
Looking back, 2009 was a great year. A momentous year. Looking forward, 2010 is our 25th birthday. On May 22, we celebrate at the Delhi Center in Santa Ana.
Santa Ana Building a Health Community | January 23, 2010. Seventy-five Santa Ana residents came together with leaders from OCCCO, El Centro Cultural de Mexico, and Padres Promotores de la Educacion at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in a collaborative spirit to investigate the root causes of problems and their symptoms in the community.
Deacon Adolfo Ramirez, a veteran OCCCO leader, presented an engaging critical thinking training for local residents, preparing them to search for the root causes of the problems in the community. Read the results of their findings. Next steps for the community:
- Building more relationships in the community through one-to-one conversations
- Participation in OCCCO research meetings. Residents will play a leadership role in developing an agenda and questions for strategic stakeholders, including policymakers, to resolving the problems and root causes.
Special Thanks to the local Girl Scouts for singing the United States national anthem.
Renewal of Anaheim's Strategic Affordable Housing Plan | September, 2009. This plan is projected to build over 1,500 moderate- to low-income housing units over the next five years. Leaders in Anaheim were thanked publicly by Councilwoman Lorri Galloway at the last Anaheim City Council meeting for their hard work in influencing the pasage of this plan.
In July, OCCCO leaders from St. Boniface and San Antonio de PAdua Catholic Church called and led a joint action that was attended by two of the five Anaheim council mmbers. The leaders won committments from both council members for renewal of this plan.
Immigration Candlelight Vigil | August 28, 2009. With over 700 people in attendance, our candlelight vigil brought the issue of immigration reform from the shadows into the light. Our message to policymakers was three-fold: 1) Stop the raids and separation of families, 2) Acknowledge that our immigration system is broken and begin the conversation about how to fix it and 3) Treat all members of society with dignity and respect.
- Youtube: OCCCO Immigration Candlelight Vigil
National Day of Action for Healthcare | August 11, 2009. Clergy and faith leaders from OCCCO, ICO and LA Voice joined faith groups around the country in ratcheting up pressure on Congress to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation this year by holding a Prayer Rally on Tuesday, August 11 at 10 AM in Los Angeles. OCCCO and ICO also visited the offices of Senator Feinstein and Governor Schwarzenegger to share their healthcare concerns.
With the future of health care reform legislation on the line during the August Congressional recess, ORG. faith leaders are declaring “No Recess for Health Reform” by demonstrating the breadth of support in Los Angeles and Orange County for the passage of health reform legislation.
- NEW!! Youtube: OCCCO Health Care Prayer Vigil
- OC Weekly: Orange County Clergy Goes Hollywood for Obamacare | PDF
- Youtube: Videos of actions across the nation
- More Info: http://www.coverallfamilies.org/
300 Gather to Pray for Healthcare Reform | August 2, 2009
300 leaders from Orange County gathered on Sunday, August 2, at the St. Callistus Parish in Garden Grove to take part in a prayer vigil hosted by OCCCO around the issue of health care reform for their community. 8 Clergy from different faith traditions, and Orange County Diocese Auxilary Bishop Luong prayed with their communities in English, Vietnamese and Spanish for a better health care system for all. The recent cuts to California’s Healthy Families program has left many parents and children afraid of where their health care will be in the future, and so a bold call was made to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) to commit to moving forward on national health care legislation and committing as a Blue Dog Democrat to stand firmly on the affordability standard of up to 400% of the poverty level. Sanchez responded to her constituents with a strong yes, and committed to send a letter to Speaker Pelosi supporting the affordability standard. Read More. See Video.
200 residents from Anaheim and Anaheim Hills urge the City Council to support Affordable Housing | July 19, 2009. Council members Lorri Galloway and Bob Hernandez witnessed powerful testimonies from residents at the public forum hosted by San Antonio de Padua (Anaheim Hills) and St. Boniface Catholic Church (Anaheim).
- OC Register: Parishioners, council discuss need for affordable housing | PDF
- Research Report
- Presentation
- Event Flyer
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