NR No. 24-28
Contact: Loree Levy/Greg Lawson
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov
What You Need to Know: California invests in farmworker outreach and education. A $100,000 grant is awarded to La Cooperativa Campesino de California to develop and deliver a farmworker outreach program. La Cooperativa will broadcast semi-monthly radio talk show programs on Radio Bilingue’s La Voz del Campo in Spanish. Each episode of La Voz del Campo will promote the services of the Employment Development Department and its partners to help farmworkers and their families access the services they need.
SACRAMENTO – The Employment Development Department (EDD) announced today it has awarded $100,000 to La Cooperativa Campesino de California, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping California’s farmworkers achieve lasting prosperity and self-sufficiency through education, training, job placement, and other supportive services. La Cooperativa will use the grant funds to develop and conduct radio talk shows to inform migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families of various programs, benefits, and services offered through EDD and its community partners.
“Farmworkers are the backbone of California and by working with La Cooperativa, we ensure that farmworkers and their families are aware of, and have access to, EDD programs,” said EDD Director Nancy Farias. “Outreach and accessibility are crucial to farmworker success.”
La Cooperativa will broadcast 24 live, semi-monthly, 30-minute talk show programs of La Voz del Campo reaching half-a-million listeners each month. The shows will be done in Spanish, then rebroadcast during the network’s Mixteco and Triqui programming hours. Radio Bilingüe – a key partner of La Cooperativa – will also stream the shows live on its website and Facebook page.
“La Cooperativa Campesina de California is thrilled to receive this grant award, which will enable us to continue our vital outreach efforts to farmworkers and their families across the state,” said La Cooperativa Campesina Executive Director Marco Lizarraga. “This funding will allow us to further enhance our partnership with the Radio Bilingüe public radio network providing crucial information to farmworkers on workforce development services and other relevant information of assistance in other areas of need as well through our La Voz del Campo radio programs.”
In coordination with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the EDD awarded funding through Wagner-Peyser 10 Percent Governor’s Discretionary Fund for the Campesino De California Outreach Grant – Radio Media Solicitation for Proposals, Program Year 2024-25.
This award is 100 percent federally funded by a grant award totaling $100,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor.
For more information, visit La Cooperativa Campesino de California or contact Marco Lizarraga, Executive Director, at 1-916-388-2220 or mlizarraga@lacooperativa.org.