Often times as organizers, we don’t take a moment to pause and reflect on how everything is going, or even to celebrate our accomplishments! With the spirit and intentions of Sankofa, FEEST decided to look back, so we can look forward again to our future. We’ve had a strong start to the year, and have so much to celebrate! Check out our recap of FEEST’s Major Wins this year! This wouldn’t be possible without the support from our community, from Student Organizers to their Parents and Teachers, all the way to our neighbors and friends. Thank you for supporting FEEST and our mission to create a better society for us all!
FEEST’s Youth Leaders were featured in the Wing Luke Museums’ latest exhibit, We are Changing the Tides! Two of our leaders, Ikran and Tasin, recorded speeches highlighting the impacts of climate change in their communities. Learn more about it by reading the recap here.
Student Organizer Lulia spoke at the Highline School District Board Meeting on the importance of students having more mental health support. Watch the School Board meeting here!
Student Organizers built community at their schools! First by hosting listening sessions in both the Highline & Seattle Public School district. In these listening sessions, students got to learn more about issues that are impacting their peers on campus. Students also hosted their first New Member Orientation, Power in Connection! This event was a fun evening full of students who gathered to build relationships, learn more about FEEST, our work, and how to support our campaign that’s been building around mental health support for students on campus.
Student Organizers were able to meet with numerous decision-makers, like Liza Rankin, Chandra Hampson, Carrie Howell, Brandon Hersey, and Aaron Garcia. Throughout these meetings, FEEST Youth Leaders facilitated a discussion and asked questions, to learn how they think the issue of lack of Mental Health resources should be solved, and what organizers can do to bring this support to our schools. This conversation series has been full of insight on how Student Organizers can be strategic as we develop our campaigns.
The FEEST fam is always growing, we are proud to share we have a new team member, Fotima (fɒtiˈma) ! Fotima (She/Her/Hers) is passionate about environmental and migrant justice, labor rights, and the food sovereignty movement. She engages in the world with her identity as a settler-migrant with a deep commitment to understanding and actively engaging in solidarity with communities impacted by global coloniality here in the Coast-Salish territories and abroad. Originally born and raised in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, her upbringing as a first-generation immigrant in the United States has informed her critical engagement and struggle against the global neoliberal reform and its byproduct of current day borders, immigration, and racialized-exploitative labor. Learn more about her by checking out our staff page!
Thank you for reading our Major Wins from this past year! ?
In case you didn’t know, FEEST is in the middle of our Spring Donation Drive! We are raising funds to continue our work in the Highline & Seattle Public Schools District.
If you wanna support:
? Our 2022 Organizer Summer Camp! ?
? Paying our Student Organizers & Staff ABOVE Minimum Wage! ?
? FEEST building strong school communities! ?
? Us getting closer to realizing our mission, vision, and values for a better world for working-class youth of color and their families ?
Donate today! All size donations are meaningful to us, there is no amount that goes unappreciated.