About

About Durham CAN

Durham CAN is based in institutions: congregations, associations, schools (both private and public), nonprofits, community health centers, and neighborhood organizations that share a concern for families and a tradition of faith and democracy.

We strengthen congregations and community institutions by developing the skills and capacity of their leaders to be change agents in the public process. Durham CAN creates a vehicle for ordinary families to have a powerful voice in community decisions that affect their lives, instead of leaving decision-making in the hands of a select few.

We build relationships of trust among people and institutions across Durham County, intentionally crossing boundaries of economics, race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation and geography that divide our communities. Part of the dynamism of our work derives from a shared commitment to bring together individuals and families that typically do not know one another, and often do not know how to collaborate successfully.

While not a religious organization, CAN's agenda reflects faith-informed and democratic values. CAN is often called upon to support member churches, synagogues, even dioceses, synods and conferences as they seek to address problems that impact families and communities.

CAN and all its organizations are issue-driven politically non-partisan. We do not endorse any candidate or party for elected office, and instead put forth our issues agenda as our platform for constructive change.

 

NEWS!


Updates on Immigrant Support

- You can join a WhatsApp group to share more resources with each other here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/LOkwM91mNWD7tzvIyhLkzR

** All of our resources are combined into a Google Doc which you can also add to here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X9SV6Ku-vAH2USLnmnet99RC83BcN7jNYvz5zQDW4sA/edit?usp=sharing

Events

- Saturday, February 15: Power of Attorney Clinic, 9 am - 5 pm, St. Thomas More (940 Carmichael St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514) -- All are welcome (you do not have to be a member of St. Thomas More)

- If you are interested in being a host organization for a Power of Attorney Clinic , please email Kate Woomer-Deters at the North Carolina Justice Center: [email protected]

Resources

- Emergency Planning Guide

https://www.ncjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EMERGENCY-PLANNING-GUIDE-for-IMMIGRANTS-final-web.pdf

*It will be updated in a more user-friendly format, but is factually accurate.

- The Immigrant Solidarity Fund is open and accepting applications for undocumented families facing economic hardship. Please share or donate if you can!

https://cwsdurham.org/isf/

COMMUNITY NEEDS

  • Meetings with schools
  • Zoom Training Opportunities
  • Plans and resources for people with a previous encounter with the police, such as driving under the influence
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Moral letters from churches
  • Message group (for emergencies, including reporting to ICE or determining if ICE is present) - perhaps by neighborhood
  • Possibly churches that offer sanctuary

The Saint Augustine University Action Update 12/19/24

Durham CAN as a partner institution in NC United Power for Action, ONE WAKE, NC Latino Congress joined Self Help, Center for Responsible Lending,  SAU Coalition of alumni and concerned community to address the predatory loan that Kip Johnson and Gothic Ventures has given to St. Augustine University.  
CAN's self interest was to support our sister organization, ONE WAKE and bring light to the predatory lending tactics established that would lead to the potential loss for a Black Institution of land and school.
Through a press conference held in front of one of GOthic Venture offices, we hoped to gain a reaction that would shame the business into changing the terms of the loan. We also wanted to identify who other potential partners in the venture were.  To that end we planned to have a meeting with Duke President, Vincent Price. Our desire was for the president to publicly state Duke's position around Kip Johnson and Gothic Ventures and dispel any partnership of financial participation in this predatory loan.
We also have sought to engage the NC Attorney General's office for information about Gothic Ventures and their investment partners. The AG office is currently in an active investigation and can not release any information at this time.
Duke has agreed to meet with members regarding Duke's position in early January.
We will continue to keep you updated.

 


Recurring Donor Campaign

We hope you will consider including Durham CAN in your charitable giving.  Durham CAN and the Congress of Latino Organizations have been offered a $120,000 matching grant from MacKenzie Scott's foundation, Yield Giving. Help us receive 100% of this challenge grant by becoming a RECURRING donor. Every dollar you give will be doubled!  Every donation, no matter the size, moves us closer to our goal.

 

If you prefer to donate quarterly or yearly, these gifts will count toward the match, so long as they are recurring.  Please contact Maryann Crea at [email protected] to receive a pledge card for a quarterly or yearly recurring donation.

Together, we can unlock this grant and continue to work for a more equitable and just Durham.  

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Click on this link to donate through your Member Institution's campaign page:

https://secure.givelively.org/teams/durham-c-a-n-congregations-associations-and-neighborhoods/durham-can-and-latino-congress-recurring-donor-matching-grant-campaign/search

Click on this link to donate directly to Durham CAN:

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/durham-c-a-n-congregations-associations-and-neighborhoods/durham-can-and-latino-congress-recurring-donor-matching-grant-campaign