What Local Leaders are saying about Canal Alliance
“Canal Alliance provides a lifeline of services vitally important to our community members most in need of support. They are a trusted voice in the community collaborating with our schools to help us better serve children and families. When our schools needed to close campuses during the COVID-19 shutdown, Canal Alliance leapt into action with The Marin County Office of Education to open neighborhood Learning Hubs that provided critical technology and support to students who faced numerous challenges to remote learning. This is just one example of their effective action and leadership. Canal Alliance provides empowerment, opportunity, and, most importantly, essential advocacy for the communities they serve.”
Mary Jane Burke
Marin County Superintendent of Schools
“Canal Alliance has long provided programs that lift barriers for Latino immigrants and put them on a pathway out of poverty. Prior to the pandemic, however, public health was not among their focus areas. When Covid-19 hit, I observed this innovative and nimble organization respond to community needs by launching a critical multi-sector public health effort. They quickly mobilized the community to provide testing, conduct contact tracing, and register people for vaccines. All of these efforts played an important role in helping Marin County achieve the highest vaccination rate in the state. At the same time, Canal Alliance quickly shifted all existing services to a virtual model to ensure that youth and adults in their education and workforce programs continued on the pathway toward achieving their long-term goals of graduating from college and gaining quality, career-path jobs.”
Sam Cobbs, CEO
Tipping Point Community
“Many people are familiar with Canal Alliance and the powerful work they do to lift barriers and provide services for Latino families on a long-term path to wellness and stability. As an ally and partner throughout the pandemic, I recognize that this organization touches the lives of every person in San Rafael, helping to support families, workers and businesses; strengthen the local economy; bridge the digital divide for students, and bring everyone closer together as a community.”
Kate Colin
Mayor of San Rafael
“College of Marin and Canal Alliance have enjoyed a longstanding relationship. Over the past 18 months, the disparities between educational access for those who have and those who are less fortunate are glaring. Undoubtedly, our partnership with Canal Alliance has never been more important.”
David Wain Coon, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President of College of Marin
“It’s been an honor to partner with Canal Alliance over the past 8 years. Tipping Point Community funded the effort to increase access to mental health care for the immigrant communities they serve. For decades, Canal Alliance has been a safe harbor and a source of hope, connection, advocacy, and aid in the community.
Over the past year, Canal Alliance has been a true champion in the fight against COVID-19. Canal Alliance is who we need in the frontlines targeting the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the immigrant community and celebrating the beautiful strengths that fuel the immigrant spirit. Canal Alliance has the innovation, talented staff, and “heart” found nowhere else. They have my utmost respect, and admiration.”
Vilma Reyes, Psy.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor & Director of Training
Associate Director Community Programs
UCSF/SFGH Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Child Trauma Research Program
“I am grateful for Canal Alliance’s mission to break the generational cycles of poverty of our most vulnerable residents. Canal Alliance continues to lead in engaging, educating, and uplifting the voices our residents of the Canal neighborhood. My office commends their inspiring work and will continue to be its most ardent supporter.”
Dennis Rodoni
Marin County Supervisor
“The past eighteen months have tried our business community but they remain resilient, thanks in large part to our local workforce who serve on the front-lines in essential jobs. We can thank Canal Alliance for their role as well, helping to empower, support, and educate Latino immigrants, and to re-build a stronger and more inclusive Marin County for everyone.”
Joanne Webster, President and CEO
San Rafael Chamber of Commerce
“The Latinx community was particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canal Alliance has earned the trust of the communities they serve. Their leadership through the pandemic fostered trust in public health measures to protect our Latinx residents. There’s no short cut to gaining that kind of trust— we rely on partners who are serving in the community every day.
Today, 98 percent of our Latinx residents have been vaccinated, the highest vaccination rates of any group in the county. There’s no stronger sign that our partnership with Canal Alliance is saving lives.”
Matt Willis, MD, MPH
Marin County Public Health Officer
