On behalf of Crossroads Fund board members and staff, thank you for making our virtual week-long celebration fundraiser a success! We appreciate you bidding on silent auction items, selecting songs, dancing along to our live DJ set, and contributing toward our fundraising goal.  We’re still calculating the final numbers, but so far, we raised over $135,000! Thank you! If you didn’t get a chance to contribute, you still can here. At this moment, we draw strength from the joy and resistance that movements for justice have shown us as the only way forward. Together we reimagined our annual tradition and coalesced virtually to resource grassroots organizing in Chicago. We hope you found a moment of cheer and connectedness throughout the week. #VIRTUALSEEDS HIGHLIGHTS Listen to our Resilient Community Playlist. Featuring songs that encompass joy at this moment.Keep the dancing going! Check out songs featured in DJ L O KARI’s BEATS OF CHANGE live mix set. 2020 AwardeesBuilding Deep Relationships and Trust Cheryl Graves and Ora Schub (posthumously) received the Donald F. Erickson Synapses Awardfor their leadership in creating clear processes for how communities can respond to harm when it occurs, inspiring a generation of young activists to envision a world without police and prisons. Cheryl Graves accepted the award by thanking friends of Ora Schub, who sadly passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer. “To all of you who knew and loved Ora, know that her tenacity and fighting spirit for justice and resistance is alive and well. And yes, still very, very loud.”  Fighting for Our FamiliesThe Street Vendors Association of Chicago (SVAC) was awarded the Lynda J. Tipton Memorial Award for Social Justicefor providing a sustainable model for equitable economic development in communities experiencing racial wealth divides and active disinvestment. SVAC Board Member Sonia Ruiz accepted the award on behalf of the group and emphasized their determination to continue organizing. “There are still many obstacles to overcome, but we will not stop fighting. We are going to continue fighting for our families,” Sonia remarked. Education as a Human Right This year the Ron Sable Award for Activism was awarded to Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education (RYH) for empowering parents to protect and strengthen public education for all children in Chicago and Illinois. “Raise Your Hand has been spending this past chaotic week, filling the gaps in Chicago Public School’s capacity and making sure that parents get the information and resources they need…throughout this public health crisis. The pandemic reminds us that schools and teachers are expected to handle so much beyond teaching and learning,” said Jennie Biggs, RYH Communications and Outreach Director as she accepted the award.  Thank You