Last day to sign up for Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice gala celebration of 35 years of service

Today is the last day to sign up for CCAEJ’s wonderful gala event celebrating 35 years of improving their community.  Check out the excellent Press-Enterprise article below, and call 951-360-8451 to make reservations to spend a great evening with amazing people!

Thank you Penny Newman and the wonderful crew of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.  You are an inspiration, and a reminder that individuals working together to achieve a common cause can change the world.

More information from the Press-Enterprise:

JURUPA VALLEY: Group marks 35 years of service
Penny Newman of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. The Jurupa Valley-based environmental group is marking 35 years of community service.

In 1978 life sure was different than today. No cellphones or texting; computers were the 
size of houses. Jimmy Carter was president with Tip O’Neill and Robert Byrd running 
Congress. A car cost $6,379 and gas was 65 cents a gallon; bread was 34 cents and
 a stamp was 15 cents. And it was the year the nation discovered toxic dumps,
like Love Canal and Times Beach.
For the small community of Glen Avon, which is now part of the city of Jurupa Valley, 1978 was the year it came face to face with the reality of the Stringfellow Acid Pits toxic waste dump. The next few years formed the foundation of a new movement and the beginning of Concerned Neighbors in Action, the precursor of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.

The CCAEJ is celebrating 35 years of working for social justice and healthy communities in the Inland valleys with a series of events that will be held throughout the Inland area, culminating in a gala dinner to be held Thursday, Nov. 14, at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium. Seats are still available but filling fast. Dinner is $50. Reservations are required by Friday, Nov. 8, by calling 951-360-8451. The event will start with a social hour at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and program at 6 p.m. with music and dancing at 8:30 p.m.


At the gala CCAEJ will be unveiling the “Inland Valley Hall of Fame” recognizing 35 people who over the last 35 years have contributed to improving the lives of residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Among the honorees will be George Brown, Jr., former Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster, Dr. John Froines, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, San Bernardino Supervisor Josie Gonzales, San Bernardino Mayor Pat Morris, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, and journalists David Danelski of The Press-Enterprise and David Barnes of the Riverside County Record.
CCAEJ has held several events throughout the year marking the group’s 35 years of service to the Inland area. “A Day in the Park For Fun, Health and Celebration” on Feb. 23 had a ceremony to officially transfer ownership of CCAEJ’s Glen Avon Heritage Park to the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District. The $2.5 million 13-acre community park is the result of 12 years of hard work and persistence by community volunteers and individual donors.
The second event was a Tribute Luncheon marking the settlement on the Mira Loma Commerce Center. The agreement outlines a series of major actions that will greatly reduce the impacts from the projects in the area. CCAEJ will be recognizing the developers who stepped forward to find significant measures to reduce the impacts from the project, Attorney General Harris for her leadership in negotiating the settlement, CCAEJ’s attorney Ray Johnson who has championed communities throughout the Inland valley, and other developers who have joined in partnership with communities to ensure their projects meet the community’s needs.
Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the positions of the Moving Forward Network or its members. All errors are the responsibility of the author.