Author: Alfredo Casuso

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

The Civic Space Foundation Announces Inaugural Los Angeles Initiative

Six Organizations Receive Grants To Support Civil Discourse and Build Community 

www.civicspacefoundation.org

19 April 2024 – Los Angeles, CA: In a major move to promote and enhance civic engagement within Los Angeles County, The Civic Space Foundation (www.civicspacefoundation.org)

a nonprofit organization committed to fostering joyful civic participation, has today announced the winners of a significant grant initiative. Founded by Manny Yekutiel, a Los Angeles native now in San Francisco, the organization has selected six critical civic organizations to receive up to $50,000 each, aimed at funding dynamic in-person civic programs.

The six local Los Angeles awardees are:

• La Más
• Hot and Cool Cafe
• Little Secret
• Boyle Heights Beat
• The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
• LA Voice

“It’s been so incredible seeing Manny’s, the civic space we built in San Francisco, thrive,” said Yekutiel, the founder of The Civic Space Foundation. “Now, it’s a honor to support civic leaders in my hometown who are committed to the crucial work of rallying their communities around causes that matter.”

The selection committee included a broad array of Los Angeles based civic leaders and advocates including former Mayor Michael Tubbs, Policy Director of the Latino Community Foundation Eduardo Garcia, Senior Program Officer at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Ceyron Foo, and Karla Mercado from SoCal Grantmakers to name a few. 

Since opening its doors on Election Night 2018, Manny’s San Francisco has become an epicenter of community involvement, dialogue and civic engagement having served over 60,000 people, staged over 2000 events, donated space to more than 150 area nonprofits and charities. The goal of Manny’s is to create a physical place to go to become a more involved and better informed citizen. 

The new Los Angeles programs, slated to commence in May and run through the end of the calendar year, are the first phase in the Foundation’s broader ambition to catalyze the establishment of a permanent civic space in Los Angeles. This initiative stems from a critical need for physical locations that encourage citizens to gather, discuss, and become more actively involved in their communities.

The selected organizations span a range of civic missions, all unified by their dedication to community involvement and engagement. Over the next year, these groups will launch a series of programs designed to create and nurture spaces where civic joy and active participation can flourish.

The Civic Spaces Fund, the initiative’s official title, underscores the Foundation’s mission to embolden individuals to cultivate joyful civic engagement through community spaces, innovative programming, and collaborative projects.

A total of $250,000 has been allocated for this endeavor, with the intention of empowering these organizations to make a substantial impact in their local neighborhoods.

“Every city should have gathering spaces for people to come together, engage with pressing issues, and actively participate,” Yekutiel said. “My hope is that our efforts here in LA and SF might lead to similar initiatives nationwide.”

Following are details on the individual organizations and their missions:

La Más: Creating and sustaining cooperative systems of living and working together in Northeast LA.

Hot and Cool Cafe: Provides a community hub and creative space to view art, listen to live music, enjoy healthy food, and, of course, drink coffee in Leimert Park.

Little Secret: A one-stop shop for entertainment, education, and connection. Through fun yet meaningful programming, we seek to spark collective imagination and expand our capacity to build power in our community located in Frogtown.

Boyle Heights Beats: A bilingual community news project produced by youth, offering “noticias por y para la comunidad,” or “news by and for the community.”

TheCoalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA): Empowering immigrants to push policies that promote freedom of movement, full human rights, and the vigorous civic action that strengthens this democracy based in Lafayette Park/Westlake.

LA Voice: Based in Santa Monica, Voice is a multi-racial, multi-faith community organization that awakens people to their own power, training them to speak, act, and work together to transform our County into one that reflects the dignity of all people.

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES SAN FRANCISCO ZOO WILL WELCOME PANDAS FROM CHINA 

Mayor Breed joined Chinese officials in Beijing to announce the first official residency for giant pandas in San Francisco in the city’s history  

BEIJING – Mayor London N. Breed joined officials from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), local leaders and members from the Mayor’s delegation today in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China, to announce the San Francisco Zoo has been selected to receive Giant Pandas as part of China’s Panda Diplomacy program.  

The memorandum of understanding signed by Mayor Breed and the CWCA this morning is the first official leased agreement for Giant Pandas to have residency at the San Francisco Zoo. In 1984 and again in 1985, the San Francisco Zoo temporarily hosted Giant Pandas from China as part of a global tour.  

The Mayor’s announcement comes after advocacy leading up to, during and after the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) hosted last November in San Francisco, between the City and Chinese government, the NFGA and CWCA, and the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in San Franciso to bring Giant Pandas to the San Francisco Zoo.  

“San Francisco is absolutely thrilled that we will be welcoming Giant Pandas to our San Francisco Zoo,”said Mayor London Breed. “We have been working closely with our local API community to advocate for pandas nearly a year ago leading up to APEC in November, and it’s an honor that our City has been chosen for the first time to be a long-term home for Giant Pandas. San Francisco is an international destination and the gateway to the Asia Pacific – having pandas here will strengthen our already deep cultural connection and honors our Chinese and API heritage that is core to San Francisco’s history. We are ready to welcome visitors from all over the world to our beautiful zoo. This is a momentous opportunity, and one I am grateful for, I know I join so many who can’t wait to see them in San Francisco.”   

President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) traveled to San Francisco in November to meet with President Joseph R. Biden and government leaders during APEC. In his remarks, the President shared his vision to further people to people exchanges between China and the United States, and his intention to bring China’s Panda Diplomacy program back to the United States.  

In February, Mayor Breed sent a letter to President Xi Jinping along with over 70 local Chinese and API community and merchant leaders to advocate for San Francisco to receive pandas, and to highlight the opportunity to build a stronger, lasting relationship between China and San Francisco.  

San Francisco had pandas at the Zoo most recently on temporary visits in 1984 and 1985. In 1984, two pandas named Yun-Yun and Ying-Xin visited the zoo for three months as part of the 1984 Summer Olympics tour, and drew more than 260,000 visitors to the San Francisco Zoo, roughly four times the average attendance during the time. The pandas visited the San Francisco Zoo again in 1985 for three months.  

Having Giant Pandas semi-permanently will be of significant importance to San Francisco’s local Chinese and API communities, as well as the City’s economic and tourism efforts as a major boost to San Francisco’s attractions and offerings. 

The timeline for the arrival of the pandas will be set by the completion of a panda enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo. Preliminary planning for that work has already begun as part of the City’s advocacy to welcome pandas to San Francisco. This week in San Francisco, engineers from the Beijing Zoo traveled to San Francisco to meet with San Francisco Zoo engineers to collaborate on Giant Panda enclosures as preparation work continues.  

In May, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association will send a delegation from Beijing to San Francisco to further engage on timeline, next steps and the buildout for the enclosures to accommodate the Giant Pandas. 

Media contact: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Waymo is Official Pace Car and Autonomous Technology Partner
for 2024 Bay to Breakers

16 April 2024. San Francisco, CA:   Bay to Breakers (www.baytobreakers.com) welcomes everyone: costumed, costumedless and yes, driverless.  The iconic annual race spanning San Francisco proudly announces its partnership with Waymo (www.waymo.com) as the official pace car and autonomous technology partner for the upcoming event taking place on Sunday, May 19.

“San Francisco is the capital of innovation, like that pioneered by Waymo,” said Crystian Kumnick of Bay to Breakers / Motiv Sports “Waymo’s expertise in safe autonomous driving technology demonstrates the potential of enhancing large-scale events such as Bay to Breakers, making the event ever more accessible and friendly to runners and pedestrians alike. They are an ideal partner for Bay to Breakers, making this event more convenient and enjoyable for all.”

In addition to Waymo leading the pack of runners and walkers along the scenic route from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean, their fleet will also serve as the Official Autonomous Technology Partner for Bay to Breakers participants.

“Waymo is proud to partner with Bay to Breakers to help celebrate this iconic San Francisco tradition,” said Kai Witbeck, Waymo Brand Engagement Lead. “Runners, cyclists and  pedestrians are especially important to us, as the Waymo Driver works tirelessly to reduce collisions and improve road safety for all users.” 

Bay to Breakers is a San Francisco original, known for its spirited race that has been a staple of the city since 1912, originally conceived as a way to show the city’s recovery and resilience following the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

Bay to Breakers brings together athletes, families, community members, and costume-clad participants for a 12k race from the San Francisco Bay to the breakers on the Pacific Coast, treasured as a celebration of life, laughter, and the personality of San Francisco, embodying the city’s inclusive spirit and community engagement. During the annual Bay to Breakers Race, participants of all ages and abilities, and oftentimes in costume, line up on Howard Street a few blocks from The Embarcadero on the third Sunday in May – in 2024, May 19. The course travels west through the City for and finishes at the Great Highway, where the breakers crash into Ocean Beach. It truly is a time-honored tradition and the quintessential San Francisco experience. 

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. Since its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009, Waymo has been focused on improving the world’s access to mobility while saving thousands of lives now lost to traffic crashes. To date, Waymo has driven tens of millions of miles on public roads and tens of billions of miles in simulation.  For more: www.waymo.com

To learn more about Bay to Breakers or sign up for the fun go to www.baytobreakers.com. To learn more about how businesses can participate in the Corporate Teams program, email Alex Jee ajee@motivsports.com. For more information about how to get involved as a sponsor, please reach out to at hello@unitepartnerships.com