b'LETTER FROM RITA MANCERAThank you for being there for Puente for our 20th year!This was a powerful and impactful year at Puente. By far, I am most proud of the eighteen women who completed the two-year college program in Early Childhood Education offered by Puente and our partners. The language exchange program (Cafecito), loved by students and volunteers, continued building theRita (on right) with board members Mark Velligan, united community we want on theCarol Young-Holt and Laura FrancoSouth Coast, and Puentes communityRita (a la derecha) con los miembros del Consejo Directivo Mark Velligan, Carol Young-Holt y Laura Francohealth workers brought more services, screenings and information to the farms, ranches and nurseries in the region.This year, we activated the local vote through voter registration and outreach. I will never forget the honor to have Dolores Huerta join our 20th anniversary celebration. She mobilized us all to vote and stay civically engaged! Thanks to your generous support and investment in Puente, this year we also:Graduated our largest class of toddlers fully ready for educational success in preschoolProvided community members with information on their legal rightsConnected youth to jobsMade college more affordable and attainable for local studentsStarted the process to become a trauma-informed organizationAlleviated the spending burden for low-income individuals and familiesLed an unprecedented bilingual, bicultural, Town Planning InitiativeActivated a local rapid response network to support immigrant familiesThe work we do is courageous and bold and its building a more sustainable generation on the South Coast, and yet, there is so much more to do.Your support helps us be the bridge to a community that is healthy, sustainable, and inclusive. Our work, together, impacts many every day. On behalf of all of us at Puente, thank you!Rita Mancera, Executive Director'