The Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice is awarding four mini-grants in their 12th year of funding organizations in the Holyoke area who are fighting injustice, oppression and poverty.

The awardees are:

$1000 for Give With Love’s Back to School Drive, for backpacks and school supplies for kids in need.

$1000 for Holyoke Health Center’s expansion of its books for kids program, to give age-appropriate graphic novels that have been banned or challenged in some communities, to preteens ages 10-12 at well-child visits.

$1000 for El Colibrí/Amherst Shelter, for a pilot program providing monthly passes to the Holyoke YMCA for unhoused women, to give them access to showers, health and fitness classes, and other services to promote physical, mental, and emotional wellness.

$1000 in an unsolicited “appreciation grant” initiated by the CVFSJ board to Beyond Walls for their mural work in Holyoke this summer. These funds will be targeted for their community engagement program.

The awards will be presented on Friday May12th from 3:30-5pm at the Holyoke Heritage State Park Visitor Center at 221 Appleton St., Holyoke, MA, 01040.