Hello, and thank you for taking time out your day to learn more about us.

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My name is Christina Candelaria. I'm the Executive Director of The Charles Candelaria Memorial Foundation and oldest daughter of its namesake. I want to personally give you a warm welcome and thank you for stopping by to read more about us. It is important to our team that you know right away that we believe you are an important part of our story and we can not be more grateful you are reading this right now.

 

Everywhere we turn it seems obvious that much of what we used to love about Redding, Shasta County, the State of California and our country is in disrepair. This is evident in aged buildings and roads, destruction left behind from constant natural disasters and even in the wide gaps between those who make decisions in Washington or Sacramento and the general workforce. 

 

Beyond this, in many ways the people are in ruins too. From a growing rate of poverty to homelessness to addiction to an alarming number of young people without parental figures guiding them, there is much to be repaired beyond just physical structures. That said, we believe that building such structures together and teaching the generations coming behind us to do this is one of the best ways to fight the growing corrosion and divide within the people and on our land.

 

The fundamental work of making America better than ever begins and ends with repairing and rebuilding its everyday people. We believe that people, just like buildings, need a foundation of various things to remain stable and healthy through any situation. The first is community. The second is meaning. And along with these thing we need purpose. We need something to do with our hands alongside other people for meaningful reasons to fulfills us . Along with this, one of our constant basic needs is to make an adequate living to support ourselves and our families which an alarming number of American citizens are without, specifically those within Shasta County where the poverty rate is higher than the national average.

 

Without a solid foundation, any framework is meaningless. Without strong people, there are no roads without cracks, bridges that don't collapse, homes to be rebuilt from ashes, or sky scrapers reaching higher than ever.

 

Currently, there are not enough people in the workforce to do any of the building and rebuilding in high demand across the county, the region, and the nation. That means the work is more costly than it needs to be, it's rushed, or it's not done at all. This is why so many of our communities and regions are in ruins. This is why housing is not affordable. This also part of the reason why so many are falling into addiction and houselessness. 

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We believe that if we come together to recognize the fundamental errors below these problems and the basic yet crucial ways to reverse it, things could be considerably different in our every day lives. We also believe we don't have to depend on government so much to see an improvement; that the power of the every day person has actually gone significantly untapped in context to its potential.
 

Whether you're a trades-person here looking for our assistance, a business owner looking to be a part of the solution to a problem that is affecting you directly, a concerned contractor who can't find good workers, or a citizen affected by recent disasters, building struggles or labor issues we want you to know that we value you. And as I mentioned above, just in your curiosity about our story you are already a part of this growing movement to redirect folks to an American industrial spirit where creating things with committed hard work, honed skill and sweat, is a life force for joy.

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As we band together to spread the word, garner funding and  get people trained and into the work force, we seek remind the culture that careers in the trades are a firm route to making a viable living: for anyone, not just some.  The more this message gets out, the more people find work, the more people and families stay supported. All this leads to a truly integral American infrastructure. 

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We always knew my Dad would leave behind an honorable story, but we never imagined the legacy part would come so soon. Nevertheless, there is a meaningful mission involved in maintaining that legacy that goes above our loss. Along side many in our city who already joined us, we have begun rising to the task.

 

Please enjoy learning about this mission, about his life, about the people in involved in undertaking this task, and about our vision for the future. Thanks again for stopping by and PLEASE DO contact us with ideas and questions, or ways to get involved. We'd love to hear about them and we absolutely can not do this without you.

 

Christina Candelaria

Executive Director