Centro Campesino Farmworker Center (CCFC)

Centro Campesino Farmworker Center (CCFC)

Overview

* Seeks to “improv[e] the quality of life and self-sufficiency of farmworkers and their dependents and other South and Central Florida residents of low to moderate income”


The Centro Campesino Farmworker Center (CCFC) was established in 1972 by a coalition of farmworker advocates seeking to “remedy [the] deplorable housing and working conditions experienced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers in South Florida.” CCFC’s early leaders sought funding for programs and services that might help farmworkers in Miami-Dade County, Florida communities gain access to affordable housing (both rentals and home ownership), legal representation, economic opportunity, health care, education, and job training.

As CCFC grew, it added programs and services in Central as well as South Florida, and it began offering these not only to farmworkers but also to other low-income residents of those areas. Today CCFC is dedicated to “improving the quality of life and self-sufficiency of farmworkers and their dependents and other South and Central Florida residents of low to moderate income” through “community building and economic development,” “provision of affordable housing and related services,” “community development and neighborhood revitalization,” leadership training, youth development, and employment and vocational training. About 90% of CCFC’s clients are nonwhite minorities, chiefly of Hispanic, African American, and Haitian descent.

CCFC’s major programs include the following:

* Youth and Family Services: Each year, CCFC offers free after-school tutoring services and summer-camp access to some 200 children (ages 5 to 15) from low-income families and low-performing schools. The organization also offers monthly Parent Support Workshops, which regularly attract 60 to 80 parents each month, on topics like disciplinary strategies, healthy lifestyles, and bullying.

* Affordable Rentals: Asserting that “everyone deserves high quality housing,” CCFC has helped develop affordable rental units throughout its service area. It also manages two rental communities in Miami-Dade County.

* Rural Rehab/Weatherization: Since the 1980s, CCFC has weatherized/rehabilitated the homes of low-income rural families in several Florida counties. Using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus bill) of 2009, this CCFC program served 1,047 households from 2009-12 — at no cost to homeowners or tenants. Whenever possible, CCFC encourages bids on these projects from contractors who reside in the counties where the work is done.

* Construction Services: As a nonprofit homebuilder, CCFC since 1972 has constructed more than 500 single-family, energy-efficient homes for low-income people; 130 “affordable rental” units; a major day-care center; and a neighborhood center. It also has supervised the rehabilitation of more than 6,000 low-income family homes in eight rural South Florida counties. Further, in 2013 the organization expanded the Education Center wherein it offers its after-school tutoring services.

* Homebuyer/Homeowner Solutions: CCFC housing counselors, who are certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, offer classes, workshops, and individualized guidance designed to help low- and moderate-income families qualify for mortgages (including subsidized mortgages) and eventually become homeowners.

* F.O.C.U.S.: Jobs: This program helps low-income minorities to develop skills in resume-building, interviewing, “cold-calling,” finding job opportunities via Internet search engines, and much more.

Yet another CCFC program—funded by the U.S. Labor Department—offers job training and has placed more than 1,000 low-income teens and adults in non-agricultural jobs.

Joe Segor, one of CCFC’s three founders, has been the organization’s board president since 1987. He also served as the first assistant director of Greater Miami Legal Services (in 1966), and later as executive director of Florida Rural Legal Services and the Migrant Services Foundation.

CCFC is funded by a number of large philanthropies, including the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the Citi Foundation, the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the SunTrust Foundation, the TD Charitable Foundation, and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

CCFC is affiliated with the National Council of La Raza.

Funder information provided courtesy of the Foundation Center.

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