OTLA Sidebar September 2020

9 • SIDEBAR • September 2020 coworkers, friends and the OTLA community immediately and realized the OTLA listserv might be a useful tool to spread the word. But she had no idea how quickly the project would take off and gather steam. “[Guardian] John Devlin was really helpful, among others, in persuading me to reach out on the listserv,” Bobadilla said. “I could never have expected how generous and compassionate everyone has been and I wasn’t sure about using the listserv to do that outreach.” But between OTLA colleagues who knew of the project and were willing to help spread the word, Bobadilla’s listserv posts energized the membership. In the weeks since she first received the call for aid, Bobadilla raised over $30,000 in contributions and an incredible amount of donated supplies. “I was told, ‘We really need baby formula, toothpaste, bottled water.’ I thought to myself, I don’t know how we’re going to do this in 24 hours to make the first delivery but we have to help these people. I put the call out on my own Facebook, as well as through the firm. The mayor of Hillsboro shared our details so folks could bring supplies to the office. Our goal was to feed 100 babies that first 24 hours and my husband rented a U-Haul to drive supplies down there. 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave, we had 234 cans of baby formula ready to go. It was incredible.” After that first delivery and with a few Costco runs of her own under her belt, Bobadilla refocused on how best to get lasting aid to farm workers across the state. She knew there was suffering not only in the Willamette Valley but as far as Medford and Ashland, and she knew OTLA members statewide would want to give. And give they did. OTLA will be writing a $10,000 check each to three organizations helping farm workers recover from the wildfires: Rogue Climate , the Center for Farm Worker and Immigrant Advocacy (UNETE) and Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) . These funds will help to keep migrant workers safe and provide sta- bility in a time when many have lost everything. “Many of these workers evacuated with only what they were wearing. I know many of us are fortunate to have a family member or a close friend whom we can go to in a time of need. These people have left their families in another country. The only family they have is the one they are trying to stay alive with.” Bobadilla teared up on the phone as she described the situation and emphasized her awe at the willingness of OTLA members to dig deep and give to others even when times have been so tough for so many this year. She explained, “The reason this is so personal to me is because my family were farm workers. I worked as a farm worker as a child. When I knew they needed help, I thought, ‘what can we do?’ and it’s incredible to see the community coming together like this. These organizations were not expecting this level of generosity from OTLA. It will mean so much and go so far to help these families.” As Oregonians statewide move towards recovering from the devastating losses of the fires, OTLA members can be proud of their contributions to farm workers. Thank you to all who donated and helped spread the word! If you are interested in providing further aid, please contact Melissa Bobadilla at melissa@bobadillamlaw. com or OTLA Education Director As- trid Grigsby-Schulte at (503) 223-5587 or astrid@oregontriallawyers.org. You can contact the three organizations directly by clicking their bolded names in the article as well. MEMBERS STEP UP continued from page 8 Bobadilla and friends and colleagues made 3 separate deliveries of much-needed supplies for farm worker families after the devastating fires.