Volunteer Highlight: Teresa, Isela, and Angie

By John Broadway

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with our partners East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), Public Counsel, and Community Power Collective, we’ve created the Street Vendor Emergency Fund. This is a campaign to provide street vendors in Los Angeles with direct cash assistance because they have largely been left out of recovery aid efforts. To date, we’ve done eleven rounds, giving out over $440,000 to 1,100 different vendors — with each of them receiving a $400 cash card and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Were it not for the help of dozens of amazing volunteers, this would not have been possible. Volunteers helped with every part of the process: calling vendors to set up appointments to pick up their cash cards, assisting them with their application, following up with reminders, providing day-of logistical support, and handing out PPE.

We wanted to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for every volunteer who made calls and showed up for the cause.

We chose three in particular to interview and highlight here. All three of these women entered public service work after college, which either directly or indirectly brought them in contact with Inclusive Action. Even though these women had slightly different reasons for signing up to volunteer, ultimately, each of them were inspired by their genuine care and personal connections to street vendors. Their stories underscore the value of street vendors and why we do the work that we do.

Teresa Lara

We spoke with Teresa Lara first. She sported a bright neon pink lipstick smile and a cozy Compton Cowboys sweatshirt; they’re a stereotype-shattering group of urban horse riders aimed at offering positive influence for other African-Americans. The banner on their website says “F*** Talking. Go Vote.” Teresa carries that same in-your-face energy. She was born and raised in San Jose, a big city that she feels has a small town vibe. After graduating from San Jose State with a degree in Behavioral Science, she moved to Los Angeles where she fell in love with all the offerings of this beautiful city: the music, the culture, the weather, the plethora of young, aspiring individuals, and a National Park feel.

Teresa began her postgraduate career at UCLA within the advocacy division through external communications. She is very selective about who she decides to volunteer with because she believes volunteering, when taken seriously, can and should be a part-time job. Beyond a personal connection to our Executive Director, it’s the mission of Inclusive Action and her respect for the hustle of street vendors that drew her to volunteer.

“I totally understand the big picture of Inclusive Action, and the importance of having people on the ground who sign up, who make the calls, who support the vendedores… I wanna support [Inclusive Action’s] work on all levels, from the advocacy level to the ground level...It has real meaning because there is like a gazillion organizations but I’m behind an organization that is like the real (pauses briefly as she laughs) there’s a lot of real deals but the timing and the support that they provide vendedores, on a hierarchy level, that’s more important, to me.”

With nearly 80% percent of our street vendor clients being Spanish-only speakers, the need for bilingual volunteers to make calls to them is tantamount. An emotional moment transpired during her interview as Teresa was forced to wipe tears from her eyes after sharing how this related to a meaningful moment in her life.

“I had a neighbor who helped us out when my dad died. She helped my mom with all the paperwork. I was very young, and didn't know how to express my appreciation. And she said: Mija...anytime you see someone struggling, especially with English, you help them. That’s how you pay me back.”

Isela Gracian

We interviewed Isela Gracian next. She sported a Michoacan-style green dress with floral embroidery, proudly flaunting her heritage despite a former training officer telling her “not to wear her culture on her sleeve” years ago. Bold purple earrings framed her face while a wall full of similarly bold earrings framed her background. All of this confirmed what was discernible from the conversation: Isela is unapologetic in being true to herself. She describes herself as American-born (Hawaiian Gardens), Mexican-raised. After studying History and Chicana Studies at UC Davis, she came back to her home city of Norwalk, armed with the words to understand how she always felt and the tools to turn that into activist action.

Isela, was the President of ELACC from 2015-2020. Under her leadership, ELACC joined Inclusive Action as a pivotal community partner in the LA Street Vendor Campaign; an advocacy campaign that fought for the decriminalization of street vending in LA. Together, we won that fight. A career volunteer,Isela currently assists students who are submitting college applications and essays, volunteers at Get Out the Vote and at local food pantries, serves on the board of Southern California Association for Nonprofit Housing and Strategic Concept Policy Organizing and Education, AND is the president of Arturo Sanchez Elementary’s Parent Teacher Association. Whew. Still, her personal connection to street vendors compelled her to make time to volunteer with Inclusive Action.

“Street vendors, the people who sell on the sidewalks, are important to me...When my mom's family immigrated to the States they sold flowers on the sidewalk, they would make food...For me, the street vending campaign and street vendors, people who are working to feed their family, it just touched my heart very deeply.”

This year Isela left her role as President of ELACC in order to have more time with her eleven-year-old daughter, Isis. Despite this, she yearns to stay connected to the people who have touched her heart.

“When I transitioned out of ELACC, [ street vendors] was one of the components I wanted to stay connected with.

I knew that I couldn't do it at the same level I was before. So when the LA Street Vendor Emergency Fund came about...I was like, oh this is totally something I could do — and it would help me still feel very connected to helping people I really care about.”

Angelica Gil

*Angie Gil, Community Relations Coordinator at Mental Health Advocacy Services*

Lastly, there was Angelica “Angie” Gil, who wore big clear glasses and big earrings, the latter rivaling the size of Isela’s. The youngest of the bunch was the most outspoken about history, an appreciation she attributes to her father’s influence. She belongs to a mixed-status family who hails from the Mexican state of Puebla, known for its mole and close-knit, small town feel. Our conversation took a brief detour as she shared stories about her hometown. Angie was brought to East LA at the age of five, making her one of millions of Dreamers covered under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). She could not have been more enthused to return to East LA after studying Sociology and Spanish at Grinnell College, a tiny school in rural Iowa that she attended during the 2016 election which created new challenges and intensified others.

Upon returning to East LA, Angie followed a similar path as the other women, entering the nonprofit sector. She is currently the Community Relations Coordinator at Mental Health Advocacy Services. She helps with development and communications and manages their social media. Social media is actually where she first came across Inclusive Action. When the pandemic hit she began looking up resources for her father — a street vendor. When Inclusive Action popped up she recognized our legitimacy based on the social media posts she came across before.

*Angie with her parents Juana and Fausto, and sisters Elia (Right) and Arely (center) in 2000*

We were able to assist her father through our street vendor fund. Besides this, it was her family background and her empathy for street vendors who may be undocumented immigrants that compelled her to volunteer for us.

“In my life it’s not just my dad who's a street vendor, it’s my extended family, it’s my neighbors, and I knew there was going to be a lot of demand. Because a lot of street vendors are undocumented and wouldn't qualify for a stimulus check. If they have any children who are US citizens their children would be excluded too.”

Angie had a heartwarming take on the immense gratification she received through her volunteer experience and particularly, her interactions with our clients.

“When you call the street vendors letting them know they’re getting a card for $400, they’re very grateful…the first thing they say is thank you so much, this may not seem like a lot to you guys but it's a lot for me and my family. For some people it’s rent money, for some, it's money to finally be able to afford shoes after four months of not being able to work. For some people, school is starting so they can get school supplies for their kids. It's different for everybody…What they always say is “que dios te bendiga” [God bless you] … it's good to know that other people have blessings for you.”

With another round of our Street Vendor Emergency Fund taking place the week of November 16th — with many volunteers expected to return — we found it fitting to highlight the amazing volunteers who make this happen. Moreover, their stories remind us why this work is so important. Just as our volunteers are so important to us, so too, are the vendors important to the members of our community.

Inclusive ActionNovember 6, 2020