CORRECT version of News From Rural Migrant Ministry!!

Pine Plains Camp 2008!!

This year we have a diverse group of twenty-two children participating in the program. We have been exploring this year's theme of "Respect" through art, discussion, and challenge activities. The children are working with Nestor Madalengoitia, a Poughkeepsie-based mural artist, in designing and implementing their own mural! We are also blessed to be working with Roberto Muller as an intern, Itzel Fernandez and Jasmin Cariño who are our YAG interns, Emma Thompson, a high school senior volunteer from the Millbrook School, and Jamie Levato, who is joining us from the Migrant Education Outreach Program in New Paltz.

Pine Plains Camp 2008!!

The program would not be possible without the incredible support of the Pine Plains Council of Churches who have not only provided us with a space in the United Methodist Church, but have also been instrumental in organizing lunches (thanks to Reneé Meryman), housing our YAG interns (thanks to the Rev. Carol Miller), providing transportation to campers (thanks to the Rev. Mike Shafer) and providing continuous encouragement and support! A big thank you goes also to the Rev. Doug Fisher of Grace Church in Millbrook as well as the Rev. Betsy Fisher and St. Thomas' parish in Amenia for their support, linking us to a fantastic group of volunteer drivers, lending us the famed Scooby-Doo Van and helping to provide lunches for the kids. This year a number of local restaurants and businesses have donated lunches, and we would like to recognize them for the part they have played in making the 2008 program a success: Thank you to Michele Jean of the Stissing House Restaurant, Lindsey Amelio of Crumpets, Charlie Norman of The Mountain Cow, Maria Wright of Lia's Mountain View Restaurant, Laurann Beliveau of Main St. Café, Jeff Zengen of Cozzy's Pizza, Stewart's Shops, and Adam's Fairacre Farms. Other individuals without whom the program would not be possible are: Bea Aldrich, whose never-ending energy and open heart keep us going; Ibis Guzman, who was instrumental in introducing us to the Pine Plains community; Michele Jean, a Master French Chef who is giving the kids cooking lessons; Kevin Cortese, for a drumming workshop; and Bee Bee the Clown.

Thank you to everyone for their hard work and support! - Matthew Dolamore

Youth Arts Group(YAG) Trip Report 2008

Earlier this month the Youth Arts Group took our annual end-of-the-year trip, Where we were hosted by the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting House. From there we were able to view many of the extraordinary murals the city has to offer and to speak with several muralists who illuminated the artistic process and also the significance that murals have in the community. When we weren't standing before these masterpieces, you might have caught us in front of others, at the Philadelphia Art Museum, where we were greeted at the door by some of the works of Diego Rivera, the Mexican populist painter. Aside from the arts focus of the trip, we still had to eat! And we did well, eating bagged lunches with our friends at the Mill Creek Farm in West Philly. The next day we were able to taste many of the delights Chinese cuisine has to offer, at a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown.

David Montanye Joins Rural and Migrant Ministry Staff

RMM is pleased to welcome to the staff the Rev. Dr. David Montanye. David is a United Methodist minister from the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. He has had over a decade's experience working with refugees and immigrants throughout the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Church World Service, and the Virginia Council of Churches. He has also served as the Director of Development for the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville and the Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Pace Law School at Pace University in White Plains, NY. He has pastored churches in Garnerville, NY and Branchville, NJ. He joined RMM as the Social Justice Education Coordinator on July 1st and will provide leadership to our educational programs among both our allies and farmworkers.

Welcome Summer Intern's

Roberto Muller is a Vassar College Community Fellow working with RMM this summer. He moved to the the United States from Costa Rica at three years old and was raised in Cold Springs, NY. Roberto has completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Vassar College and is taking the summer to learn about farmworkers and farm work at RMM before his next adventure. Roberto will focus on the summer camps

Matt Dolamore, just graduated from the University of Maryland and has returned home to the Hudson Valley for the summer for a Fellowship with RMM. Matt has dual-citizenship in the United States and England At school, he majored in Spanish and Russian, with semesters in Spain and Moscow. At the end of his summer here, Matt will work with refugees in Arizona through Ameri-corps, This is Matt's second year with RMM, and he's spending it organizing and directing the Pine Plains summer program.

Tara García Mathewson is an RMM Intern.She is a rising junior at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Illinois. Tara is involved with University Chorus, intramural sports and Peace Project in addition to working at a flower shop and a child care center in Evanston. Tara has written for various campus publications, and she worked with the campus radio station during her freshman year.This summer, Tara is working on the Oral History project for RMM. She has recently been enjoying the privilege of listening to farmworkers in both Eastern and Western New York share their stories and open windows into their lives.

Leanne Tory-Murphy, is a Student Action with Farmworkers Fellow assigned to RMM for the Summer. She is currently in her second year at Hunter College, working on her self-made major, Relocalization, which allows her to focus on the importance of place and rooting different human systems to it.
Leanne lived on Long Island until she graduated from high school. She then spent three years traveling and working all over the world, from India through Europe to Mexico. This summer, Leanne is putting together a six-week youth leadership academy, working with the Youth Arts Group and also helping gather oral histories of New York State farmworkers for RMM.

Legislative Session Recap

The Justice for Farmworkers Campaign surely made its presence known in the State Capital over the last six months. Here are a few ways that this year has been special:

*Delegations of farmworkers and allies on five separate dates throughout the legislative session ensured that injustice in the fields would not be suffered quietly. This was capped off with an energetic joint rally with Domestic Workers United on May 20th that drew hundreds of supporters from origins as far-flung as Long Island to Buffalo--and even from Washington D.C., as AFL-CIO President John Sweeney joined NYS AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes--to add their voices to the rising chorus calling for justice for all workers.

*We were invited to participate in a panel discussion of immigrant workers' rights at the Somos el Futuro Conference, the annual conference of the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

*We deepened bipartisan support for the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act. Our cosponsor totals at the close of the legislative session were 15 in the Assembly and 8 in the Senate. The Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act was passed out of the labor committee in the Senate, for the first time ever.
*RMM's Western NY office and Youth Arts Group collaborated extensively with JFW Campaign Coordinator Jordan Wells to support farmworkers' calls for justice. YAG members actively participated in both the Somos el Futuro Conference and the May 20th Farmworker Advocacy Day.

*And much more! Over the next few months, we will continue to engage farmworkers and allies in a conversation of how to further strengthen the campaign in the coming year. Cargate las pilas! La lucha sigue. (Charge up your batteries! The struggle continues.)