New year brings opportunities to help each other, achieve for ourselves

It's a new year and, as the beginning of a new year always does, it brings hope of change for the better and improvement upon the previous year. As we know all too well, last year leaves a lot to improve upon. While the first week of this year was a rough start with the disturbing violence we witnessed in our nation's capitol, we have pressed ahead and welcomed a new president; we have seen vaccinations make headway against the pandemic; and we have welcomed back our students for the Spring semester. Life goes on, and that's what this issue of Focus magazine is all about. No matter how hard it seems or how bad it gets, getting through hard times is made much easier with the help of friends and family. As a member of CSEA, you have a quarter million family members across the state who will be there when you need help, whether it be getting through hard times or improving your life.

"While we're living through a challenging time in our history, we still must strive to improve our lives and ourselves with the faith that it will get better and things will return to normal."

When you find yourself in hard times, the Dorothy Bjork Assistance Fund is there to provide emergency assistance. I hope you take the time to read the heartwarming stories in this issue's feature story about how your brothers and sisters have been helped by those of you who have generously donated to the Assistance Fund. It is solely funded by donations and every single penny goes directly to helping each other. I know many of you who have been helped and it warms my heart that we support each other in this amazing way. Please donate if you haven’t already. While we're living through a challenging time in our history, we still must strive to improve our lives and ourselves with the faith that it will get better and things will return to normal. CSEA has many resources available to both you and your family members to help further your education and advance professionally. The many scholarship opportunities offered by both CSEA and Union Plus that are highlighted in this issue illustrate the passion for achievement of our members and their dependents. I love seeing all of our scholarship winners and look forward to watching them succeed in life. Don't forget about our amazing free college degree programs as well, available for both members and their families. Learn about all these opportunities on our website. Finally, I know we are all relieved to have the brutal 2020 election cycle behind us, but that doesn't mean we're done for now. The work of our Victory Club, powered by voluntary member donations, never stops. Now begins the work of recruiting and training pro-labor candidates, supporting our elected officials and planning for the next election. We were able to achieve so much this round, thanks to the huge support of our members. If you haven't already, I encourage you to join the Victory Club to help ensure our lawmakers support hard-working Californians like us. As always, please stay safe as we continue to weather this pandemic. Wear a mask, keep your distance and stay home as much as possible. We are not only getting through this together, we are progressing and achieving great things despite the challenges — because that's what we do and that's who we are. I'm proud to call you my brothers and sisters. In solidarity,