Social Justice News: True Ridge MIGRANT Emergency Fund

Justice is what love looks like in public.

SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM (SJT)

Our next SJT monthly meeting, is TUESDAY, April 8 at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

The SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM is a self-selecting group open to all UUFH Members and Friends.  We welcome all active participants.  Whether your social justice interests are one or many, you can contribute to our SJT efforts.  Your inputs are welcome.  Contact any team member AND join the team to help carry out your suggestions. Contact Charlotte Corrigan for the Agenda, minutes and meeting LINK and current schedule 

GS2030 Green Sanctuary Renewal is included in our SJT meetings per the Fellowship’s approval of our UUFH Congregational Project for 2024-2025. 

Join Social Justice Team (SJT)

We meet the second Tuesday of each month.

All are welcome to attend. These meetings are your chance to provide input and contribute to our UUFH Justice efforts.  To participate, please e-mail Charlotte Corrigan for the agenda, minutes, and Zoom link.

WANT MORE NEWS? 

If you’re not following the UUFH jUUstice WORKERS NEWS, you’re missing out on events and actions that support our UU values.  Contact Charlotte Corrigan to join the email list or click on this link JW NEWS

This week’s highlights: details are in the text!

  • UU COMMON READ:  Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families starts with the sermon on Sunday April 13. Obtain your copy now.
  • April Outreach Collection:  MIGRANT WORKERS EMERGENCY FUND (True Ridge)
  • Migrant workers WELCOME BAGS – 2025, on site collection through April 15
  • RESIST – INSIST – PERSIST RALLY / HANDS OFF RALLY –– Saturday, April 5 @ Noon Hendersonville Historic Courthouse
  • UU JUSTICE NC – News and Friday Action Hour (NEW LINKS to Zoom, Google doc and list serv), Calls to Action
  • Defend Trans Lives WEBINAR: April 8
  • Side With Love:  ACTION CENTER WEEKLY UPDATE (LINK updated each week) – actions & resource materials plus THE GATHERING – a monthly event starts April 14
  • LWV Earth Day Program – April 22
  • YCV Update & Action ALert – stop the SAVE ACT
  • MountainTrue: “we’re suing the Forest Service…” plus upcoming events for April – May

APRIL OUTREACH COLLECTION:  TRUE RIDGE MIGRANT EMERGENCY FUND

True Ridge (trueridge.org) began as an organization to help the Latin and Migrant Worker communities with domestic violence but has expanded to provide bilingual and culturally appropriate support in three key areas:

  • ADVOCACY – Court accompaniment, case management, interpretations, document translations with notary services, assistance with Mexico legal documents and Hurricane Helene Relief services.
  • EDUCATION – Information and referrals to education resources, support for educational scholarships, 
  • IMMIGRATION – By appointment only consultations, Immigration legal services for a low-bono fee, document translations, and notary services.

True Ridge serves the Hispanic community in Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties.  Our guest on Sunday, April 6 is Melisa S. Escobar, Executive Director at True Ridge; she is scheduled to speak briefly and be available for your questions at coffee hour

Our April Outreach Collection is dedicated to the True Ridge MIGRANT Emergency Fund which aids migrants in crisis situations and is led by Anne Backer, UUFH volunteer.  

All families face emergencies from illness, accidents, loss of employment or housing, domestic violence and other crimes, etc.  The True Ridge Emergency Fund provides financial aid to complement the various support services offered and understands the cultural needs of Hispanic families in crisis.

Your donations support families and this community in a time of family crisis or emergency.  

  • Please note MIGRANT EMERGENCY FUND in the memo line on your check or on your donation envelope (available in the foyer).  
  • You may also click “donate” on our website, then select “Outreach Fund”. 

Migrant Workers Welcome Bags 2025


A group of white bags with handles

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
This year  is the eighth annual collection and bagging of needed supplies to welcome arriving Migrant Farm Workers. We  have gone from 100 bags the first year to over 600 last year. We are hoping to exceed that this year.
NOW until April 15th, donations are being collected at UUFH for the Migrant Workers Welcome Bags. 
Monetary donations may also be given; checks (preferred) may be made out to True Ridge. Please note on the memo line; Migrant Farm Workers. Note:  Money collected is used to supplement the donated items so that more bags can be prepared.

If you would like to volunteer to sort the donations and/or bag the items, please contact Sissy Owen by text @ 828-674-0464 or e-mail BMWSissy@nullgmail.com.  Leave your name, hours and date(s) of availability, and your contact info. Volunteers are needed on April 16th for sorting, for a couple of hours between 9am-5pm or until finished. Volunteers are needed on April 17th for bagging between 11am-2pm or until finished. Both events will be held at the Community Center in Dana Park, 2879 Upward Road, Flat Rock.  Snacks will be provided by Blue Ridge Health Outreach.
Thank you for welcoming and supporting the migrant farm workers who come to our county and pick the delicious food that comes to our tables. Without them, our lives would be bland and a lot less healthy!
If you have further question you may contact Lynn Weisberg, swlow123@nullgmail.com
  • Here is the list of needed items. The list will also be posted above the donation bin in the foyer.
  • Ball caps, new or lightly used and clean
  • Hats – small or medium
  • Bandannas- cotton or polyester
  • Long sleeved button or fishing shirts, new or clean and lightly used in sm/med/lg
  • Long black cotton knee high socks.
  • Gatorade powder*, Liquid IV mix or other similar electrolyte products.           A lot of this is needed!
  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrushes
  • Razors
  • Bar Soap
  • Shampoo (small bottles)
  • Sunscreen
  • Insect repellent
    *Gatorade concentrate comes in gallon jugs and will be distributed separately.

UU JUSTICE NC

Subscribe to receive the monthly newsletter & action alerts in your inbox at UUJusticeNC.org   DONATE to UU Justice NC via this link: You Can Donate Here! 

FRIDAY ACTION HOUR Every Friday at 11:00

Join UU Justice NC for our Weekly Friday Action Hour.  

Every week, UU’s and justice partners across the state gather to recap the past week and take action on the issues impacting our state and country.   And there is always great music to help us feel the justice movement in our bones! 

UU Justice NC now has New Friday Action Hour Links 

for the Google DocZoom Registration, and to sign up for our Weekly Email.

A yellow text with a white background

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
We are in a critical moment. Power is being consolidated in the hands of the few, while attacks on democracy, bodily autonomy, and human dignity escalate. But nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are powered by people like you—people who organize, resist, and build a loving and liberated world.
That’s why we have launched the Action Center Weekly Update—a resource to keep you informed, equip you with immediate actions, and help you strengthen your organizing skills. Each Tuesday, find our newest update at our Action Center as well as the archive of past updates.
Check out this week’s update:  sidewithlove.org/actioncenter
There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.     Audre Lorde

From our friends at Equality NC “Every year, on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) celebrates trans and nonbinary people, honors their resilience, and calls attention to their challenges. But in 2025, visibility alone is not enough. The urgency of the situation demands that we take action to protect and uplift trans lives both online and in the real world. 

This year, Equality North Carolina has created The Trans Day of Visibility 2025 Toolkit —A resource-packed guide to help you advocate for trans safety, fund trans-led initiatives, and take meaningful action beyond TDOV.”

UU Common Read

Rev. George would like to invite you to participate in this year’s UU Common Read. The book is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families edited by Peggy Gillespie. A monthly four-part discussion series will be scheduled through June: 

Please note revised dates 

The four planned discussion sessions are:  April 13May 4, May 18June 1, 12-1:30pm (bring a bag lunch)

You do not have to read the book prior to the first session.   You can order it here. (UU bookstore $22.00, Amazon $17.10 / ebook $9.99)  Please sign up HERE. If you can’t attend all four sessions, come to the ones you can. The discussions will be Zoom accessible also.

APRIL 5 Noon-1:30pm — Rally @Hendersonville Historic Courthouse

RESIST – INSIST – PERSIST

April 5 rally.docx

See Justice Workers News  or congregational email of 04-01 for details.

League of Women Voters’ Earth Day Program

The League of Women Voters of Henderson County (LWVHC) will celebrate Earth Day with  a program on Tuesday, April 22, from 2:30-4:00 pm at the Hendrick-Rhodes building  (renovated VFW), 900 N Main St. in Hendersonville. 

The program, “Local Environmental Advocacy – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” will be a discussion about the local environmental scene and the Environmental and Conservation Organization, ECO, that helped lead the way. Program guests will include two former executive directors of ECO, Mary Jo Padgett and  David Weintraub, who will reminisce about the environmental past and speak to the community’s future. 

The event is free and open to the public, light  refreshments will be served. See lwvhcnc.org for more information.