Canal Community Council / Concilio Comunitario del Canal

The Canal Community Council is a group of Canal and greater San Rafael neighborhood residents whose principal objective is to have a voice that represents the concerns and needs of the Canal community, in order to promote beneficial changes for the entire Canal neighborhood.

The Council works on various projects that seek to accomplish three main goals:

1. Education:  Promote accessible, quality education for all students – early childhood through college – as well as adult education.
2. Economic Development:  Promote economic development within the Canal.
3. Social Services:  Promote improvements in social services offered in to the community.

Three agencies support the Council, by working directly with the above subcommittees:  Canal Alliance, Canal Welcome Center and Parent Services Project.

Parent Services Project/Mentores Project works directly with the Education Subcommittee.  Currently, the Council’s education subcommittee is implementing an outdoor activities project for families with children ages five and under.  This project is free to the community and includes tree-planting, outdoor art activities, and a summer soccer league for tots.  For more information, please contact us

 

Canal School Readiness Initiative

We partner with First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission as a member of their Canal School Readiness Initiative in San Rafael.  This initiative brings together various stakeholders to address the health and well-being of children ages 0-5.  The initiative’s work has four focal points: 1) health (physical, oral, social/emotional), 2) access to quality early care and education, 3) family support, and 4) increased school capacity.

 

Marin Child Care Council / Parent Voices

We partner with the Marin Parent Voices Chapter / Marin Child Care Council (MC3) to advocate for accessible, quality childcare in Marin County.  Because so many of the families we serve are in need of child care, we work very closely to refer these families to MC3 to get on the Centralized Eligibility List, as well as to become active in advocacy efforts.  For the last several years, the Mentores Project has assisted with statewide Stand for Children Day in Sacramento, bringing our families to the capitol to tell their story.

 

Marin Opportunity Centers

The Marin Opportunity Centers project primarily serves Marin's immigrant and non-immigrant temporary work force.  It is comprised of two inter-related components designed to help individuals and families integrate into the community and increase self-sufficiency: 1) two service referral sites called Opportunity Centers and 2) a Virtual Hiring Hall called MarinHelpers.com.

The project is a collaboration of Canal Alliance, Legal Aid of Marin and Ritter Center.  Opportunity Center services include Workplace English Language classes, computer access and tutoring, resource referrals, and enrollment in the MarinHelpers.com database.

The Mentores Project refers families to the Opportunity Centers and has closely collaborated on the Center’s services/trainings for Marin promotoras (health-promotion workers who are natural leaders in the community).