Building Relationships: Apopka and Loyola

Loyola University in Maryland has been building an enduring relationship with the Apopka Community for several years now. Their weeklong service learning trips begin with our friends at Hope CommUnity Center and lead them through an immersive and transformative week. Many students are deeply impacted by the experience, and several have continued the relationship by joining AmeriCorps for a year of service to the community.

A new group of college students connected with the Farmworker Association on January 4, 2016. The program began when our Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project Coordinator first introduced the students to the history of Lake Apopka, and then explained the legacy of oppression that still strangles farmworkers today.

 

The incomparable Linda Lee came to share her story with the students, and touched the hearts of many of those in attendance.  She shared her feelings about the great losses in her community, and the community’s many years of struggle for justice. Her powerful words and poignant stories continue to transform the hearts and minds of all those who hear her, and they sow the seeds of personal growth that, for many, may influence their future paths in life.