Fall Update

After a summer of picking berries in the fields of Mount Vernon, we are now back at school and ready to pick up where we left off.

You might remember that, back in June, a small group of us attended a week-long video camp at Reel Grrls in Seattle. While there, we produced a short video titled “Field Dreamers”. (You can find it under “Internet Links” on the right side of this page.) Our collaboration with Reel Grrls is so cool and we want to do many more things with them this year. They like that idea too!

You might also remember that one of us took DreamFields to Washington DC in June and delivered copies of the book to several important politicians. We couldn’t believe it when we heard that she had successfully completed our most important goal – she delivered a copy of DreamFields to Obama’s staff where she received a promise that Obama would receive the book! We still can’t really believe it. Our stories are being read in the White House.

Meanwhile, back at home, our struggles continue, but so does our determination.

We sold our last copies of DreamFields at the end of June and so far we haven’t been able to print any more. This has been frustrating because the demand for the book has been growing. We have received requests for the book from as far away as Montreal and Kentucky, but we have been unable to fill orders. However, it looks like we have found a solution and we should have DreamFields available on Amazon by the end of this month. Stay tuned.

We have received several invitations for local speaking engagements this year. Since most of us are no longer at the middle schools with Ms. Blackmore, we are trying to create a Migrant Leaders Club at the high school so we can continue educating our community about our lives as migrant students. Once our club is up and running, we will let you know what our plans are for this year.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support of our book. We would love to hear from you!

For pictures from the Washington DC trip, see our Photo Gallery tab at the top of this page.

For a list of the decision-makers who received the book in Washington DC, see below:
President Barack Obama (via Cecelia Muñoz, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council)
Secretary Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security (via White House office)
Senator Maria Cantwell – Washington State (given directly to her)
Senator Patty Murray – Washington State (given directly to her)
Representative Luis Gutierrez – Illinois (via his aide)
Representative Rick Larsen – Washington State (given directly to him)
Representative Jim McDermott – Washington State (given directly to him)
Representative Catherine McMorris Rogers – Washington State (given directly to her)
Tyler Moran – Deputy Policy Director for Immigration, White House Domestic Policy Council
Scott Buckhout – White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Cynthia Martinez – Activist/Organizer, National Immigrant Youth Alliance
Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferst Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Rev. Canon Anthony Guillen, Officer for Latino/Hispanic Ministries of the Episcopal Church
Katie Conway, Immigration and Refugee Policy Analyst for the Episcopal Church/Office of Government Relations