Support Mission Immigrant Youth and Families In Crisis

Many residents of San Francisco know Cesar Chavez Elementary School for the beautiful murals depicting its' namesake, activist Cesar Chavez, along with other multicultural themes representing the entire community, such as the ASL alphabet mural on the Shotwell Street side of the building to represent Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and families. Chavez is an integral party of our Latinx Cultural District community.

It has become the center of food distribution, COVID-19 testing and community outreach during this crisis.  Many families from the Chavez  community have also gone out of their way to volunteer in these efforts, serving 478 families from all over the Bay Area, many of whom reside in the Mission District neighborhood.

Due to the Shelter-In-Place order across our city and state, the families of Cesar Chavez Elementary have been through severe economic strain. Not only that, but 90% of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 were those who needed to leave their home to work. 95% of these individuals identified as being of Latinx heritage.

The Jamestown Community Center is hosting this fundraiser for the Chavez families in need of financial support at this time. The money we fundraise will go directly to those who have been impacted and have the highest need, primarily undocumented, unemployed, or homeless families.

In particular this fund will support our families who do not have access to unemployment benefits and will not receive a stimulus check to help them through this pandemic. Multiple families will be supported through $500 Visa Gift Cards that can be used towards paying for essential items such as groceries and toiletries. 

The Mission District is the heart of San Francisco. It’s where we gather for big wins, nights out, great food, and cultural events like Dia de los Muertos and Carnaval. The Mission is beautiful and vibrant because of the richness of art and culture that come from the unique Latinx heritage and cultures of its' residents. 

The families of Cesar Chavez play a big part in making this neighborhood run and contribute to its' vitality. The Mission District gives us so much.  We need to show our support, love and appreciation for the families that make The Mission like no other place in San Francisco.

Visit the GoFundMe Page and Give Today

Presenting Loco Bloco's Carnaval 2020 Theme: From Roots to Reincarnation

Through our artistic expression, we will create:

An embodiment of the ancestral traditions & wisdom living in the land & carried in our spirit

An act of community healing from our ancestral trauma as our scars evolve into adornments of empowerment
A reclaiming of our strength, power & voice as we transform our vision for our collective future

Join us March 7th at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School for our Spring Resource and Carnaval Registration Fair 11am - 2pm. If you want to get involved before this, join us every Monday at Brava Theater for our Free Community Drum and Dance Classes 5 - 6:15pm. Stay updated on all things Loco Bloco by following on Facebook and Instagram.

Executive Director Myrna Melgar to Pursue New Leadership Role

After six powerful years as Jamestown's Executive Director, Myrna Melgar will be transitioning out of her position to run for the City of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors' open seat in District 7 in November of this year.

Under her leadership, Jamestown grew tremendously to now serve nearly 4,000 youth and families annually. During Myrna’s tenure, the organization also doubled its funding, merged with Loco Bloco (another youth-serving Mission District organization), expanded programs and purchased office space in the Mission District. Jamestown is strong, stable and poised to continue providing low income youth with high quality educational opportunities that build inter-generational leadership within the community. 

While she will be stepping down in June from her official leadership role at Jamestown, Myrna plans to stay involved and continue supporting this community with the same passion she has always carried. The Board of Directors will conduct an open recruitment for the new Executive Director, and during the transition, Jamestown's Deputy Director, Nelly Sapinski, will assume Interim Director duties. 

Nelly has served as Deputy Director for five years, and previously led the out-of-school division for Reading Partners and Santa Clara County Catholic Charities. Nelly grew up in Tijuana, Mexico and holds a Master's Degree in Education from Harvard University. She is a certified bilingual teacher and reading recovery specialist, who has built Jamestown’s program design and evaluation systems throughout her time with the organization. 

Jamestown appreciates all the support from our extended familia of youth, families, partners and funders as we continue to serve our community during this transitional phase. Our focus remains on our work and mission of helping young people and their families realize their full potential to become powerful and healthy members of society.

Join The Mission and Support Jamestown

This past year has been groundbreaking for Jamestown, we hope you have enjoyed following the journey and growth on our Futuros Sin Fronteras blog. We have completed the merger with Loco Bloco, expanded our programming to serve nearly 4,000 youth and their families, and purchased space in the building we occupy at the Historic Centro Social Obrero. Our organization is stronger and more sustainable, poised to continue providing opportunity to kids, and helping them succeed.

At Jamestown, long-term engagement and deep relationships based on trust are the secret to our magic. This magic is the underpinning of the success of our youth, and what makes our programming special. We strive to serve youth and their families for as long as they need us -- providing crucial programs and supports to accompany them into adulthood. 

Martín Herrera Pazmino embodies the core values and mission of Jamestown. Currently a World History Teacher at John O’Connell High School in the Mission, Martín grew up in the community, attending public schools in the neighborhood, supported by the enrichment programs at Jamestown and Loco Bloco. A budding artist, he picked up his first drum at age 3 in a Loco Bloco class. Martín also attended Cesar Chavez Elementary School, where he participated in Jamestown’s afterschool program. 

Through his participation in Loco Bloco, Martín was able to hone his artistic skills and was accepted to the San Francisco School of the Arts for High School. While at SOTA, Martín worked as a youth apprentice at Jamestown, which taught him valuable workforce skills, opening the doors to a career in education. Working as a youth apprentice also provided Martín with income – a crucial component for our youth who are often overlooked by traditional college and career support programs. 

Every summer while he attended Sonoma State University, Martín came back to San Francisco and taught valuable skills to younger neighborhood kids in Jamestown’s summer programs. Martín credits his participation in Jamestown and Loco Bloco and his parents, Betty and Francisco, for his deep commitment to social justice and the Latino community in the Mission. It is where he grew as a leader, an artist and an educator.  

Jamestown’s comprehensive educational supports include academics, arts, sports, leadership development, and social emotional skill building delivered with cultural competence by our highly trained staff. Our work embodies education justice for low income youth: opening the doors to high quality educational opportunities regardless of their family’s ability to pay for it.

We consider all of our readers part of the Jamestown familia, and invite you all to donate and help us continue growing in our work during this holiday season. This will be our final blog post for the year, we hope you have enjoyed reading about all of our accomplishments and will continue following our progress into the new decade and beyond! Thank you for believing in our Mission, see you in 2020.

Jamestown: Reclaiming Space and Culture in The Mission

After months of planning and working behind the scenes, The Jamestown Community Center is excited to announce that along with a consortium of other community organizations, we have purchased part of the equity in the building that houses our administrative offices on the corner of Alabama and 19th Street. Thanks to a generous contribution from Mayor London Breed’s Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative, Jamestown is officially a homeowner in The Mission! 

To honor this triumphant reclamation of space, we want to invite all community members to celebrate and take a tour at our open house, Planting Roots: Reclaiming Community (Sembrando Raices: Reclamando Communidad) on November 20th (event details to come!).

While this relocation to a bigger and better space is certainly a win for the organization, we also see it as a victory for the community as a whole. The struggle to keep the spirit of the Mission District alive has been an uphill one. Between the rapid gentrification and displacement of community members, as well as the closing of many longtime businesses, often times we can feel like strangers in our own neighborhood. Despite the obstacles, Jamestown remains steadfast and committed to holding space and celebrating longtime community traditions with our gente.

Photo by Carla Hernandez Ramirez

One of these traditions, the Loco Bloco Blocura gala, will be making a triumphant return this year! After taking a brief hiatus, we are proud to bring back Blocura on October 18th at Patio Español. The event will include live performances from the Loco Bloco Ensemble and an art auction featuring work from some of the Mission District’s premier visual artists.

All of the funds raised will go directly to support Loco Bloco arts programming, which includes teaching artists’ salaries, music and art supplies and development for young adults involved in the Teaching Artists in Training program. You can support the work of our amazing artivists, by purchasing a ticket or becoming a sponsor today. 

“It was really important for us to make sure we made Blocura happen this year,” said Annie Jupiter-Jones, Deputy Director of Arts and Community. “This event is all about celebrating with our community; we’re looking forward to dancing the night away with our supporters both old and new.”

On the heels of Blocura, Jamestown along with other community partners will host the third edition of ReclaMisión in honor of Dia de Los Muertos. As in years past, this event will feature local artists, musicians and community organizations collaborating on a creative exposition of this timeless cultural tradition. The celebration of ReclaMisión allows us the opportunity to celebrate our culture alongside our people in a grand display for all to see, hear and feel. 

We work with artists of all disciplines and bring them together for a one-of-a-kind experience of cultural expression that keeps us connected with our heritage, while instilling in our young people a sense of pride and tradition that at times can feel far off given the current political landscape. ReclaMisión holds sacred space for us to remember our history and be active participants in creating it.

Events like Blocura and ReclaMision are critical to continue fostering community and creating a safe space to celebrate our cultural traditions together as a Mission familia. We will not lose touch, we will not lose hope, and we will continue working on behalf of our people for a better tomorrow.

Jamestown Partners With UnidosUs

Jamestown is honored to announce we are now an affiliate of UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) the largest Latino Advocacy Organization in the country. Jamestown was one of just six organizations nationwide selected to join the affiliate network this year. As a Latino-led agency, we are proud to partner with this incredible organization and connect with leaders from across the country working to solve the issues that matter most to our community.

Jamestown joins Mission Asset Fund and Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) as one of just three San Francisco organizations part of the UnidosUS affiliate network.

UnidosUs Representatives took a tour of Chavez Community School with Executive Director Myrna Melgar and Extended Learning Manager Maria Silvas.

“This is a huge deal for Jamestown,” said Executive Director Myrna Melgar. “Until recently, we’ve never really defined ourselves as a Latino organization, but if you look at our leadership and staff, we are truly a reflection of the community we serve.”

Formerly the National Council of La Raza, UnidosUs advocates for issues that matter most to the Latino community, such as protecting civil rights, equitable access to education and fighting for nondiscriminatory immigration practices. In order to maximize impact, the organization began adding affiliates nationwide, each with its own unique focus area. Currently there are 267 affiliate organizations across the country.

As affiliates, Jamestown now has access to a national network and important resources such as new funding streams, professional development trainings as well as program evaluation and other capacity building workshops. As Jamestown continues to grow and expand its impact on a local level, we are also grateful to be recognized by a national organization and look forward to continue building and working in solidarity with Latinos across the country.