We must all champion support for local nonprofits

As members of El Centro AMISTAD’s board of directors, we are keenly aware of the growing need for services from the nonprofit community in the City of Boulder.

In a time when hate, division and intolerance are on the rise, AMISTAD’s work has become more essential than ever. Our services provide a source of strength, support, and community for those affected by harmful rhetoric, practices and policies.

Despite the lack of meaningful action at the federal level, our staff and clients remain resilient — coming together to uplift one another and advocate for the values of equity, dignity and justice that truly serve our nation’s needs.

As we do this important work alongside our local government and nonprofit partners, we write in strong support of continued local government funding for nonprofit services.

Nonprofit organizations are critical to supporting people in the City of Boulder. As non-governmental entities, we have the flexibility to nimbly adjust our programs, reach out directly to community members, and can often provide services much more efficiently than larger, more bureaucratic systems.

We hope you will join us in calling on the City of Boulder to continue its important financial support of nonprofit community organizations like AMISTAD. Funds like the Human Services Fund and the Health Equity Fund are more critical than ever to ensuring no community member is left behind.

2025 is a year to continue to come together, to stand in support of all community members, and continue to strengthen our investments.

— Magnolia Landa Posas, Summer Laws, Luz Ruiz, Marcela Serrano, Denys Vigil, Sophia Yaeger, AMISTAD’s board of directors, Boulder

No one could have possibly voted for this mayhem

In 1983, our six-month-old infant child died from complications associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS.

As grief-stricken parents, my wife and I relied on support from a nonprofit group of researchers who provided us with what at that time was known and unknown about the syndrome. SIDS’ immediate lockdown of an infant’s breathing system was and still is a mystery. It is sudden. No cure. No anticipatory preparations were on offer. However, several years ago British researchers postulated that placing the child on her back while sleeping could help deflect the syndrome’s tight grip.

It worked. Once word was out, cases fell dramatically. Unfortunately, this suggestion was unknown to my wife and me. It was unknown to all new parents.

Now, largely through the efforts of government health agencies such as The National Institute of Child Health Development, the idea has spread. The “Back to Sleep” concept has been remarkably successful. Easy and cheap.

A small amount of the agency’s budget is allocated to informing new parents to place their babies on their backs while sleeping. “Back to Sleep.” Recently, our cruel, ignorant president has eliminated “drop in the bucket” funding for this agency whose objective is to help parents avoid the crushing tragedy of SIDS.

Even though the president apparently has no clue what this SIDS thing is about, he is responsible for yet another lazily enacted atrocity. No one could have possibly voted for this.

Enough.

— Jim Studholme, Boulder

Join the Daily Camera’s Community Editorial Board

The Camera has several positions open on the Community Editorial Board and is inviting local writers to apply.

The CEB members are volunteers who write every other week on topics of local interest that are selected by the Camera Editorial Board.

Applicants may send a resume of writing and/or general educational and work experience, a cover letter about why they are interested in joining the CEB and writing samples.

Writing samples can include letters to the editor or guest opinions that have been published in any paper, or a 300- to 400-word essay on a recent CEB topic or a local issue.

Applicants must live in Boulder and should not be members of groups that are politically active in Boulder or Boulder County.

Applicants should include a telephone number, and finalists will be contacted to take part in brief interviews.

Send your application to openforum@dailycamera.com.