ARISE Adelante is a nonprofit serving immigrant women and children in unincorporated colonias (very low-income, informal communities) in South Texas.[1] ARISE stands for A Resource In Serving Equality.[2] It was founded by Roman Catholic sister Gerrie Naughton in 1987 in conjunction with women from the local community. ARISE assists new members for a while, but then they must agree to volunteer back to the community, working in a distributive leadership model.[3] Its motto, from its founder, is "ARISE does not do for the people what the people can do for themselves."[1] It is cosponsored by the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy of the Incarnate Word.

Recognition edit

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops through the Catholic Campaign for Human Development recognized ARISE as serving over 5,000 women and children at any given time, "helping the people of the Rio Grande Valley participate in processes that promote their rights and dignity as human beings."[4] In 2015 the Building Community Workshop of Dallas, a secular organization, added founder Gerrie Naughton to a set of trading cards it prints to honor "heroes of the Rio Grande Valley."[5] ARISE gives the Gerrie Naughton Award annually in her honor. In 2024 MacKenzie Scott's foundation granted ARISE $2 million, the largest gift in its history.[6]

The Rio Grande Guardian did a five-part series on her, ARISE, and the work of its all-woman team.[7][8] ARISE was featured on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper in 2023.[9] In 2020 Glamour magazine profiled ARISE.[10] It is the subject of a colonias project at Southwest Texas State University, which today is Texas State University.[11]

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, who in 2020 was in the TIME 100, works closely with ARISE.[12] Every week ARISE volunteers from the colonias go to the Catholic Charities Respite Center and assist migrants with their visas.[10] The center helps them get safely to sponsoring families and organizations.

ARISE is regularly featured or mentioned in many English- and Spanish-language newspapers in and around the Rio Grande Valley. Examples include the Rio Grande Guardian (multiple features), El Paso Times (multiple features), and ValleyCentral.com.[13][14][15] ARISE has been in the Catholic media, including Global Sisters Report, Our Sunday Visitor, and the Sacred Heart publications King Street Chronicle and Sacred Heart Greenwich.[16][17] ARISE has als been featured on the popular podcast "A Nun's Life."[18]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Stehn, Alexander V. (2019). "Barbaric, Unseen, and Unknown Orders: Innovative Research on Street and Farmers' Markets". The Pluralist. 14 (1): 52. doi:10.5406/pluralist.14.1.0047. ISSN 1930-7365. JSTOR 10.5406/pluralist.14.1.0047 – via JSTOR.
  2. ^ "ARISE Adelante". ARISE Adelante. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  3. ^ Thomas, Ursula (April 24, 2020). Cases on Strategic Partnerships for Resilient Communities and Schools. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-7998-3287-4.
  4. ^ Griffin, Beth (2020). "Helping People Help Themselves: ARISE Adelante empowers women, youth, and children in immigrant colonias" (PDF). Catholic Campaign for Human Development. 1 (2): 1–4 – via usccb.org.
  5. ^ Mejia, Imelda (March 9, 2017). "Las Milpas woman receives award from community-based organization". KVEO-TV. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Beaty, Thalia (March 19, 2024). "MacKenzie Scott doubles planned nonprofit gifts to $640 million, gives $7 million locally". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  7. ^ Taylor, Steve; Gomez, Blanca (August 10, 2023). "Flores: I agree with Manny Vela. Come visit a Valley colonia. Talk to the families". Rio Grande Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Staff". ARISE Adelante. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  9. ^ Tapper, Jake (December 19, 2023). "Senate Scrambles On Border Deal As Migrant Crossings Surge". The Lead with Jake Tapper – via CNN.
  10. ^ a b Geraghty, Emily (June 23, 2020). "On the Border, a Group of Women Are Building Community on Their Own Terms". Glamour. Retrieved April 14, 2024. For over three decades, the women of ARISE have been giving immigrant women and their children a piece of the so-called American Dream.
  11. ^ Las Colonias: A Publication of Southwest Texas State University. Walter Richter Institute of Social Work, Las Colonias Project. 1999.
  12. ^ "Sister Norma Pimentel: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Taylor, Steve; Gomez, Blanca (August 9, 2023). "Hellums: Why United Methodist Church helps ARISE Adelante". Rio Grande Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  14. ^ Unger, Hope. "Stop Operation Lone Star". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Instances of Arise Adelante". KVEO-TV. March 9, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  16. ^ McGlone, Mary M. "Who do we invite into our lives?". Global Sisters Report. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  17. ^ Martin, Michelle (February 20, 2022). "Pope Francis' theology of the poor". Our Sunday Visitor. 110 (44): 9–12 – via JSTOR.
  18. ^ Guerrero, Elizabeth (February 6, 2023). "Room at the Inn | A Nun's Life Ministry". A Nun's Life. Retrieved April 13, 2024.