San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin Disaster Relief Fund partners with Working Partnerships USA for the VTA Solidarity Fund
The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, its members, families and friends extend our compassion and heartfelt concerns to the VTA gun violence victims, co-workers and colleagues, families, and public transit users for the May 26, 2021 tragedy. We join the Working Partnerships USA VTA Solidarity Fund with contributions to help with the needs of those who have been impacted. You can make your donations using the special link here. Or you may mail in your contributions using the information below.
The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin Disaster Relief Fund is partnering with Working Partnerships USA (a 501c(3) organization) to donate funds to the VTA Solidarity Fund which was formed after the May 26, 2021 mass shooting at the VTA light rail yard in San Jose.
The VTA Solidarity Fund is governed by an Oversight Committee which includes labor partners, including the victims’ unions ATU Local 265 and AFSCME Local 57, and representatives for the victims’ families in order to equitably distribute the funds raised. The Oversight Committee will assess the varied needs of those who have been impacted and how the funds will be distributed. There are individual GoFundMe’s and funds started by other individuals and organizations, including the ATU Disaster Relief Fund to cover the needs of the victims, families, and other witnesses/workers impacted by this tragedy. The Fund that Working Partnerships manage will not charge an administrative fee for donations (but there is a credit card transaction fee of about 3% for online donations) or use money from the fund for overhead. There is no fee for donations made by check.
During the Betsuin’s Executive Board meeting on June 3rd, the Executive Board authorized $2500 from the Disaster Relief Fund and is appealing to our Sangha and friends to join this effort with personal donations. You may use the special Betsuin donation link or you may write a check payable to Working Partnerships USA and mailed to Working Partnerships USA, VTA Solidarity Fund, 2302 Zanker Road, San Jose CA 95131. If sending in a check, please indicate you are part of the San Jose Betsuin’s sangha, families and friends for tracking purposes. Please make your contributions by August 31, 2021.
For questions or concerns, please contact: Joyce Iwasaki at DisasterRelief@sjbetsuin.org
About Working Partnerships USA
Working Partnerships USA is a community organizing and public policy nonprofit that works closely with the labor movement. We run a program called Union Community Resources that provides financial assistance, information, and support referrals when union members and others in our community face tough times. During crises like this, we scale up the program to provide additional support. After the tragic shooting at the VTA light rail yard, we partnered with the South Bay Labor Council to create this fund.