We hosted our third Fund a Future Citizen Event at Agave Healdsburg as part of our Charities on Tap series. The evening brought together the Healdsburg community and its surrounding areas to hear inspiring speeches from our esteemed Chief Executive Officer, Jennielynn Holmes, Santa Rosa Assemblymember Chris Rogers, Healdsburg City Council Member Ariel Kelley, Dr. Gary Barth, and entrepreneur/Owner of Agave Healdsburg, Octavio Diaz. Each speaker emphasized the importance of helping permanent legal residents become citizens.
“Immigrants have founded 55% of U.S. startup companies, which is valued at more than 1 billion dollars. They create businesses at twice the rate of U.S born citizens and that spurs jobs, innovation and grows our GDP. Nationally 48% of our agricultural workers are foreign born but here in Northern California that number is 90%. We cannot survive without our immigrant community,” said Jennielynn Holmes.
“This type of program is critical because we know that additional roadblocks are going to be thrown up, we know that additional barriers are going to be put in place. And there is no better story about America than the trials and tribulations that immigrant families have had to come here. The things that they have had to overcome to build a better life here for their families and to give back to their communities,” said Chris Rogers.
“The security of being a citizen and having a passport, having a legal resident card, and what that allows folks to do. Especially in this time and in this era, it is so critically important for people to continue to have that pathway to citizenship and those opportunities,” said Ariel Kelley.
Each speaker shared powerful messages on how important immigrants are to our region and why this kind of support is needed now more than ever. Some, like Octavio, offered a personal reflection about his own journey and what becoming a citizen means to him.
“Sometimes when people think about immigrants, they think about negative stuff or bad stuff. I don’t do bad stuff. I believe in doing great things so that good things and great things happen to my family. I believe that good always wins over evil,” said Octavio Diaz.
