In coordination with 45+ cities around the country, Poets Against Walls will host Rio Grande Valley voices for a fundraising reading benefiting immigrant families through the Immigrant Families Together (IFT) organization https://immigrantfamiliestogether.com/

The event will feature a lineup of Valley writers sharing their poetry and prose as well as music and community organization speakers. If time allows, a short open mic period will follow.

Writers include: Fariha Ahmad, Mónica Alvarez Suárez, Nayelly Barrios, Isaac Chavarría, Julieta Corpus, César L. De León, Celina Gomez, Rodney Gomez, Carolina Monsiváis, Emmy Pérez, José Antonio Rodríguez, Priscilla Celina Suarez, and Edward Vidaurre. Music by Esther Martinez.

We hope that you can join us. The aim is to raise $500 per event to meet or exceed the goal of $5,000. Poets Against Walls shirts and author-donated books will be available for sale with all proceeds donated to IFT. You may also donate without purchase or independent of this event. For donations and more information follow this link https://www.gofundme.com/f/writers-for-migrant-justice

As per their event page:

ABOUT
Immigrant Families Together (IFT) was founded in June 2018 in response to the inhumane immigration policy separating families at the U.S./Mexico border. They pay bonds for parents in detention and work to reunite them with their children. Additionally, they support over 100 reunited families as they recover from their detention trauma and adjust to life in the U.S. while their asylum cases are adjudicated. All of the IFT volunteers are working pro-bono. Thus, ALL of your funds will go directly to rapid response needs. This New York Times article "How Regular Americans Can Help Reunite Migrant Families " says more about the impact of IFT and why we love them.

HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED
- Pay bonds to release detained migrants.
- Legal and relocation costs for related detained migrants.
- Acute needs such as medical, food and transportation costs, clothing, blankets, car seats and diapers for families who have been released, and temporary housing stipends for refugees who have just been released from detention and have no family in the U.S.
- Supporting our partners on the border with their critical needs.
- Operating costs to cover emerging needs and infrastructure.

Gracias!

‍