Our Social Justice and Action team selected local organization Coalición Fortaleza to be our guest and recipient of our 3rd Sunday collection on Sunday, August 17. The coalition was a vision seeded by elders and families in 2020 after one of the largest climate disasters impacted the historically Latinx, working class, and seniors communities: the Almeda fire. “At that time we were a Latinx/e intergenerational coalition of community members, leaders, volunteers, and organizations in the Rogue Valley. We represented a mixed-status, working class community with deep roots here. Together we had decades of experience responding to exploitation, discrimination, environmental injustice, racism, poverty, and housing inequality. We are experts in our fields of supporting the economic liberation of Latino/a/x communities. Together we understood that for decades our communities have been the economic backbone for the largest economies in the Rogue Valley, yet by design, we have been left out of socioeconomic, environmental and political decisions that impact our everyday lives.”