Fiesta Para La Comunidad! Celebrates The East Los Angeles Community With Free Event For The Whole Family
Event Marks Launch Of YMCA Of Metropolitan Los Angeles' Program With L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans’ Community Resource Centers To Fight Food Insecurity
LOS ANGELES - The Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA will host the 8th Annual Fiesta Para La Comunidad! on November 19th from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Mariachi Plaza (1831 E. 1st Street, Los Angeles). The highly anticipated event provides community members with a FREE turkey and all the fixings for a delicious and nutritious Thanksgiving meal, while supplies last.
The Fiesta Para La Comunidad! marks the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles’ launch of a six-month program with L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans’ Community Resource Centers to fight food insecurity in three LA Metro communities. The health plans’ generous $50,000 sponsorship will support food distribution programs at Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA, Anderson Munger YMCA, and Wilmington Family YMCA.
“We are grateful for the investment L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans are making to keep our families healthy, happy, and thriving. This fantastic partnership is a testament that together, we make possible happen,” Mario Valenzuela, Senior Vice President of Equity, Inclusion & Social Impact.
“Access to nutritional food is important in order to maintain good health and well-being. We are grateful for the opportunity to help the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles provide food to local communities that we serve, especially during Thanksgiving,” said James Cruz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Blue Shield Promise.
“With the cost of groceries still soaring, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for working families to meet their most basic needs, like putting food on the table,” said Francisco Oaxaca, Chief, Communications and Community Relations at L.A. Care. “We are happy to serve families in need and hope this partnership serves as a model for other organizations to follow.”
The Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA has gathered community chefs, mariachis, entertainers and more for a Thanksgiving celebration like no other at Mariachi Plaza. Community members will also be treated to FREE hot food cooked right on the spot from East L.A.’s hottest chefs and restaurants. All this is against a colorful backdrop of local talent including Mariachis, Folklorico dancers, and DJs.
The Weingart East LA YMCA thanks their community partners for their generous support of this event including Adventist Health White Memorial, SoCalGas, the University of Southern California (USC), TorkLaw, Mega 96.3, and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago.
About the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles: The YMCA-LA is committed to rebuilding communities by providing equitable programs and services to empower all Angelenos. The Y-LA is focused on fighting food insecurity, providing equity in education, making sure every child has the opportunity to experience the joy of sports, ensuring kids and teens have a safe place to grow, learn and live a healthy lifestyle. The LA-Y’s health and wellness initiatives offer medical and mental health resources to ensure everyone has access to basic health needs. During the pandemic, the LA-Y became the safety net for millions of Angelenos. They provided millions of meals, hundreds of thousands of hours of free childcare, arranged critical blood drives, provided showers for the homeless, flu and COVID vaccines as well as medical and mental health assistance. Visit ymcala.org for more information.
About Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan
Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan is a managed care organization, wholly owned by Blue Shield of California, offering Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect. It is led by healthcare professionals with a "members-first" philosophy and committed to building a quality network of providers and partnering with community organizations for more than 450,000 members. For more information about Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, please visit www.blueshieldca.com/promise. For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.