YAKIMA, Wash. – The Between the Ridges Alliance for the Common Good held its annual Yakima Advocacy Day, bringing the community together to meet various organizations across the valley. The event aimed to address several important issues this year.
Over 150 people gathered at Englewood Christian Church, including community members and organizations from the valley, to discuss desired changes locally and beyond.
“It’s really important now to speak out, to make sure that we’re saving and protecting all those programs,” said a participant at the event.
Reverend David Hacker moderated this year’s Yakima Advocacy Day, emphasizing the importance of supporting those most in need.
“Our concern is mostly for the most vulnerable in our community, especially immigrants right now, living in such fear, our concern is with climate change and with the environment,” Hacker said.
He acknowledged the financial challenges in the state but urged people to continue working together.
“A lot of basic services that we need to create the safety net where people need are being decimated at the federal level, cuts to the state. And so we’re struggling a great deal to make sure that we can maintain and sustain the level of services that we need to take care of the most vulnerable in our community,” Hacker said.
Hacker noted recent events across the country and highlighted the importance of Yakima Advocacy Day.
“People are afraid. And so this is ability to give ourselves a voice, to empower us, to be able to know that we have the ability to make that change happen for the better, for the common good, and that we can celebrate our all of our diversity, all of our work that we’re doing together and celebrate our unit, and build the power and the capacity to continue to hope to continue to do this work,” Hacker said.
The key takeaway from Advocacy Day, according to attendees, is the power of collective action.
“They can do something concrete to make a difference, and that we really do have together the power to reshape our world. And I think that to me is a profound thing that we can continue to hope that we continue to have that radical optimism, even in the face of what is happening in our society right now, that our voice can be heard and we can speak up and we can take action so that we have the power to reshape the world,” Hacker said.
Reverend Hacker also mentioned that the event discussed future plans for the alliance this year, encouraging the community to be agents of change.
