2023 Cesar Chavez Legacy Awards
The 2023 Annual Cesar Chavez Legacy Awards Gala, the Cesar Chavez Foundation honored artist and activist Carlos Almaraz (posthumously), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Executive Director Angélica Salas, and pioneering Latino political figure Richard Alatorre at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on March 23, 2023.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass delivered the keynote address, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta made special remarks.
The annual Cesar Chavez Legacy Awards Gala brings together international, national, and local leaders from every sector of business, government, labor, and education to remember the life and work of Cesar Chavez and honor distinguished individuals for their commitment to social justice and their positive contributions in their respective fields.
To view the event’s program, visit: 2023 Awards Gala Program.
Cesar Chavez Lowrider & Classic Car Show
Join us for a FREE family event at the National Chavez Center on Saturday, August 12, from 12 – 8 pm, “Cesar Chavez Lowrider & Car Show,” hosted by Classic Dreams Car Club.
Don’t miss a special performance by Bakersfield-native group Mento Buru at 5 pm. For car registration, please complete the registration form here: https://bit.ly/ChavezCarShow23
All proceeds benefit the Cesar Chavez Foundation and National Chavez Center.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
6:00 am – 10:30 am Car Show Registration and Roll-In
12:00 pm Doors open
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm DJ Amar1e
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Aztec Dancers
1:30 pm – 3:00 PM DJ Amar1e
3:00 pm – 3:30 PM DJ Mikey (until 8 pm)
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Performance by Chuck and Aranza Alexandria
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Presentation of Car Show Awards
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Performance by Mento Buru
8:00 pm Doors close
CAR SHOW REGISTRATION
Roll in is from 6:00 am – 10:30 am. Strict 10:30 am deadline.
Day of registration is $30 on a first-come, first-serve basis. *CASH PAYMENT ONLY*
For additional information, contact Jose Fernandez at 661-840-2953 or Lulu Salas at 661.201.2774.
TRAILER TOWING
If you are trailer towing your car, designated parking will be available.
EVENT INFORMATION
- The gates open at 12 PM
- General Admission Parking is FREE
- General Admission is FREE
- Classic Car and Lowrider roll in from 6:00 am – 10:30 am
- In-door cooling stations available
- Indoor and outdoor seating will be available
- Closed-toe shoes are recommended
- Outside alcohol is strictly prohibited
- Smoking is not allowed (location is a high-risk fire zone)
Cesar Chavez Foundation, Partners Break Ground on High-quality Affordable Housing Community in Pomona, Calif
Cesar Chavez Foundation, Partners Break Ground on High-quality Affordable Housing Community in Pomona, California
Pomona, CA – The Cesar Chavez Foundation, City of Pomona, Citi, Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), and UnitedHealthcare announced the groundbreaking of a new affordable housing community in Pomona. Chris Hartmire Plaza, named after the late Reverend Chris Hartmire, is being developed by the Cesar Chavez Foundation and will create 90 units of affordable housing for low-income families and homeless veterans on a formerly vacant lot.
The groundbreaking marks the start of construction of the 90 units, comprised of 30 one-bedroom units, 30 two-bedroom units, and 30 three-bedroom units reserved for families earning between 30%-60% AMI, along with units reserved for persons with disabilities, including individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Through a partnership with Tri-Cities Mental Health Center, a public agency providing mental health services to the communities of Pomona, Claremont, and La Verne, residents will have access to on-site social service programs. Additionally, the development will feature an on-site health clinic. East Valley Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides medical, dental, and mental health services to the East San Gabriel Valley and Pomona Communities, will occupy an approximately 6,756 square-foot ground-floor health clinic servicing residents and the local community.
“Chris Hartmire Plaza is a critical addition to our community, and we are proud to bring this much-needed affordable housing to Pomona,” said Paul Chavez, President of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “Our mission is to improve the lives of working families, and this development is a significant step towards achieving that goal.”
“We are pleased to be a part of the financing for the Chris Hartmire Plaza. The combination of affordable apartments with supportive services and healthcare in one LEED-certified building will be transformative to the City of Pomona,” said Carrie Lee, Director at Citi Community Capital.
The highly sustainable LEED-certified buildings, designed by Onyx Architects, will feature a publicly accessible pocket park at the center of the project site. Additional features include common areas, a community center, tot lot, and laundry facilities.
The total development cost for the project is $75.8 million. The project is receiving 28 project-based vouchers from the Housing Authority of Pomona, in which eight will be dedicated to veterans. In addition, the project received $1.7 million from the City of Pomona in the form of a development impact fee note and permanent local housing allocation funds. The California Department of Housing and Community Development is investing $20.8 million through their Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities and No Place Like Home programs; in addition, $4.6 million in grant funds from California Housing Accelerator. Citi provided an additional $58 million in construction financing, and $13 million in subordinate construction financing was provided through a partnership between CPC, UnitedHealth Group, and CSH. The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust is investing $1 million into project.
“Chris Hartmire Plaza will not only create dozens of new affordable homes and provide supportive services to its tenants, it will also provide a new healthcare resource that is accessible to the broader community,” said Robert Riggs, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, the Community Preservation Corporation. “As a non-profit lender dedicated to addressing our nation’s housing crisis, CPC is proud to partner with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, the City of Pomona, Citibank, UnitedHealthcare Group and CSH on this project that will serve the unique housing needs of the Pomona community.”
“UnitedHealth Group recognizes the strong connection between housing and health to improving health,” said Steve Cain, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of California, part of UnitedHealth Group, which has invested more than $800 million to build new affordable housing communities in more than 25 states, including $70 million in California. “Building new affordable housing for vulnerable people is an investment in the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve.”
“Today’s groundbreaking represents what is possible when cross-sector institutions collaborate to support much-needed affordable supportive housing,” said Debbie Thiele, Managing Director, Western Region at CSH. “Chris Hartmire Plaza is an example of how the state can address the critical need we identified through the CA Needs Assessment to bridge affordable housing and healthcare services for people experiencing complex barriers to housing.”
The property is named after Reverend Chris Hartmire, who worked with civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez and other early organizers before there was a farm worker union. Hartmire selflessly dedicated himself for decades to building what became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Always humble and soft-spoken, Chris inspired countless women and men to activism and “servanthood” by dedicating themselves to the UFW and other good works.
Chavez Foundation Breaks Ground on High-Quality Affordable Housing Community in Montebello, Calif
High-quality, affordable housing community in Montebello named for pioneering labor-community activist J.J. Rodriguez
Montebello, CA – Vista de J.J. Rodriguez, a new affordable housing community in Montebello with 63 units for families, including supportive units for survivors of domestic violence, will be dedicated on Friday, June 2 by the Cesar Chavez Foundation in partnership with the Downtown Women’s Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit serving and empowering currently and formerly homeless women. It is named for a pioneering Los Angeles labor and community leader who was a key colleague and supporter of civil rights and farm labor leader Cesar Chavez dating back to the 1950s.
“We’re pleased to break ground on our first affordable housing community in Montebello to address the needs of Latinos and working families,” said Chavez Foundation President Paul F. Chavez. “It’s fitting to name this property after J.J. Rodriguez, a dedicated veteran activist in Los Angeles who was an early champion of the Chicano movement.”
The total development cost for the project is $46.7 million. The project received $27.1 million in Tax Credit Proceeds, which will be in partnership with PNC Financial Services. In addition, the project received $4 million from the City of Montebello in the form of a City Land & Impact Fee Loan and $549,000 in the form of a City Development Loan. The project received $2 million in Affordable Housing Trust Funds from the Los Angeles County Development Authority as well as 31 project-based vouchers. The California Department of Housing and Community Development is investing $2.5 million through its Infill Infrastructure Grant Program. The San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust is investing $1.7 million into the project. Lastly, a Permanent Loan of $8.7 million was done in partnership with City National Bank.
“We stand proudly alongside the Cesar Chavez Foundation as a funder and provider of project-based vouchers for this development,” said Emilio Salas, LACDA executive director. “It is an honor to be part of an effort that will not only bring much needed housing to the community, but that will also recognize the legacy of an individual who fought for many years on behalf of the Latino community.”
Vista de J.J. Rodriguez will house a Si Se Puede Learning Center, Chavez Foundation’s flagship afterschool program for young residents, a playground, and multi-use community space. Chavez Foundation and its partners will provide ongoing property management and supportive services for all residents, including social services for survivors of domestic violence through a partnership with the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center.
Keeping with the tradition of the farm worker movement, the project memorializes the late J.J. Rodriguez’s lifetime of advocacy for social, labor, and civil rights. He began organizing City of Vernon packinghouse workers in 1928 and helped build their long-dominant packinghouse workers’ union. During the 1950s, Rodriguez was an important activist and leader in Los Angeles with Cesar Chavez in the Community Service Organization Latino civil rights group. For years, he served as president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. When Rodriguez died in 1991, Cesar eulogized his friend as a “pioneering trade unionist who fought many early battles of the Chicano movement.”