A Grassroots Movement
JCARF is a community supported reparations and mutual aid project focused on the individual and collective wellness of our local community of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. We raise funds and in kind contributions from folks who benefit from white privilege and distribute these resources among the BIPOC community.
JCARF funds individual BIPOC needs such as:
Access to wellness treatments or therapies
Access to educational opportunities
Bills or Expenses
Emergency Situations
Family Support
Access to healing or traditional foods
Transportation
Access to land
We also:
Support BIPOC lead projects and causes
Coordinate resource sharing between those who have access and those who seek access
Run a large, free CSA with veggies, fruits, meat, dairy, bread and flowers for local BIPOC
Although it is still important for the powers that be to recognize its legacy of violent oppression and genocide through meaningful reparations work, we believe that direct change can happen through creative, human-centered solutions to addressing the short and long-term effects of current and historical brutality enacted upon BIPOC folks. It is essential that white people step up to do their part in the dismantling of white supremacy. JCARF’s mission is one way that we dream that into reality.
We are not a charity! We are a community of folks stepping into their power to identify inequity and begin to grow something new.
Our goal is to support and better the lives of BIPOC folks in our community, to promote wellness in whatever form is most meaningful to the individual. We do our best to be a no-barrier fund that does not mimic the dominant oppressive systems of social services.
JCARF serves all BIPOC folks living within (East) Jefferson County and the indigenous descendants of the original inhabitants of this territory who live nearby, such as Chemakum, S’Klallam and Makah folks. We operate as a team of unpaid white volunteers working under the guidance of BIPOC leadership.
Since our beginning in February 2019, we have distributed thousands of dollars in direct payments, gift certificates, locally grown food, handmade herbal medicine and other wellness items.