ESTHER awards its 2016 Community Award for an individual to Norys Piña for her work to improve the quality of life for immigrants throughout our community. She passionately educates immigrants about their rights and has formed a group, Unidos por un Futuro Mejor, to work for systemic change in our community, state, and nation. Her passion rises from her own story and that of those around her.
Norys advocated for driver’s cards for undocumented immigrants and quickly drew together funding and people to fill three buses to participate in a statewide “A Day Without Latinos” demonstration at the state capitol on February 18, 2016. She has been active in ESTHER’s Latino Simulations and Voices of Hope theatre productions. Most recently, Norys has organized a community-wide Latino Voter Engagement campaign.
When asked what sustains her work in ensuring rights for immigrants, Norys says, “I find hope and strength to keep fighting in the faces of my kids, in the stories of my friends, in the lives of all good people who deserve the opportunity to use their full potential, in the humanity in each of us crying out for equity. Just the thought of not fighting for our rights and keep silent scares me more than anything else.”
To mark World Hijab Day in the Fox Valley, a series of events are being held in the month of February:
Come explore the dimensions of compassion in an innovative event that combines music, discussion and breaking bread together. Join friends, neighbors and family in this promotion of harmony and tolerance among all religions, faiths and beliefs. Join the thousands of people around the world who accept the challenge to kindle compassion and extend kindness, respect and civility to everyone in our community. The need for people to come together has never been greater.
In Appleton, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day celebration will be held on Monday, January 16, at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel starting at 6:30 pm. Leonard Pitts, syndicated columnist with the Miami Herald will give the keynote address, speaking on “Refusing to be a Bystander to Racism and Injustice.” For more information, visit the 
In Oshkosh, the 22nd annual MLK Day celebration will be held at the UW-Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center, 625 Pearl Avenue, from 4:00-6:00 pm. The event theme is “The Dream: The Legacy Through the Eyes of Our Youth,” with special performances by Liamani Segura, age 7, from Racine, and Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem Jackson, age 5, from Chicago. The keynote speaker will by Dr. Vicki Crawford, director of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. The attached flyer provides more information about the event.
More than 200 people attended ESTHER’s 12th annual banquet on Sunday evening, November 13, making the event one of the largest in ESTHER history. Attendees included elected officials, faith leaders, community award recipients and their guests, WISDOM and ESTHER staff, and ESTHER members and friends from throughout the Fox Valley. At a time of great uncertainty and change in our nation and state, it was good to be together. It was also good to recommit ourselves to the values and hopes we share as we work together for a better future.
Are you a person who’s “hard to buy for” at holiday time or on birthdays or other special occasions? You already have all the shirts, ties, scarves, slippers, motorized shoe polishers or battery-powered wine openers you need. And you hate fruitcake.
Monday, December 5, 2016, 6:00 pm
Its Color-Brave Lending Library has more than 150 free games, books and movies for both kids and adults that deepen insights on race. Since its 2014 inception, Fit Oshkosh has trained nearly 3,000 people in settings including local government, educational institutions, faith groups, and non- and for-profit businesses. ESTHER thanks Fit Oshkosh Co-Founder and Executive Director Tracey Robertson, its program supporters, and its trained volunteers for their invaluable efforts in making our community a place where race matters to all citizens and where all people—no matter what their racial identity—truly “Fit” in.
