Among the hustle and bustle of the Starbucks on Yakima Ave. in Yakima, Wash., Giovanni Severino, 25, sits behind a carefully arranged table. The tablecloth, proudly displaying the Latino Community Fund of Washington logo and colors, holds voting registration cards, free masks and snacks, free for anyone going into the store for their morning coffee. Giovanni’s work now is more than just community organizing. As the lead policy organizer, Giovanni advocates for bills that were introduced by the organization’s partners and community members. This past legislative session, Giovanni’s work was instrumental in advocating for bills such as Senate Bill 5022, a law that hopes to reduce plastic pollution and improve recycling in Washington. Continue reading

Six years before Merivet Lombera accepted the title of Alianza Youth Leadership Co-Manager at the Latino Community Fund of Washington, she was a student at Yakima Valley College (YVC) interacting with the organization for the first time. According to Merivet, during her first year of college, YVC’s MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán), had invited LCF, among other organizations, to participate in their annual conference. It was LCF’s environmental justice workshop that caught Merivet’s eye. Continue reading

When Cristina Ortega joined Latino Community Fund, she hit the ground running.  “I started with making sure that our community had resources,” she said. Cristina was hired onto the Yakima team at the beginning of the pandemic when critical information about COVID-19 was still developing and warehouse and field workers were striking across Yakima Valley.  “There were all of these resources available and not much of our community was aware of it. So making sure that they had that information translated and have access to those things was important, that way they could continue to be safe and keep their families safe.” Continue reading