BRENTWOOD – Mayra Jimenez Almaras was 8 when she got here to the U.S. from Mexico together with her dad and mom and two siblings. At 11, she was working lengthy hours beneath the scorching solar within the Brentwood fields, selecting inexperienced beans and packing corn.
These days at the moment are behind her because the 21-year-old prepares to graduate from Saint Mary’s School of California in December with a bachelor’s diploma in finance.
As a solution to give again to the group that helped her household, Jimenez Almaras works as a group well being employee with Hijas del Campo, which, translated from Spanish, means “daughters of the field.”
The Contra Costa County-based nonprofit goals to assist migrants, seasonal farmworkers, and their households to enhance their lives, working situations, well being, and security. Their work focuses on meals safety, well being care, housing, training, employees’ rights and authorized support.
Jimenez Almaras was in highschool when she first met Marivel Mendoza and Dorina Moraida, co-founders of Hijas del Campo. On the time, they have been handing out back-to-school provides and academic assets.
“A door opened for me, providing different types of resources, not just education-wise but, in general, so much mentorship and leadership,” stated Jimenez Almaras.
By the nonprofit, Jimenez Almaras not solely acquired assist for her faculty software but in addition a laptop computer.
That very same laptop computer not solely helped Jimenez Almaras, but in addition her mother, who later used it to finish a group well being employee certification program by way of Hijas del Campo.
Now, Jimenez Almaras’s mom not works within the fields, however as a substitute in an aged care house.
Her two siblings have additionally moved on. Her older brother teaches at an space faculty, whereas her youthful brother is pursuing a level at a group faculty.
Jimenez Almaras stated that whereas the world sees farmworkers as an important supply of meals for his or her plates, many fail to acknowledge that farmworkers themselves face meals and monetary insecurities, in addition to power ailments.
She urged native leaders to respect and advocate for the group that gives sustenance.
“Have that respect, treat everyone equally, and at the end of the day, just be thankful that we’re there every single day, not only thriving for our own families, but thriving for yours as well,” stated Jimenez Almaras. “Look out for the people that feed you and don’t bite those hands.”
Hijas del Campo co-founders Dorina Salgado-Moraida, left, and Marivel Mendoza are photographed in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Hijas del Campo is Contra Costa County-based nonprofit group that goals to assist migrant and seasonal farmworkers, together with their households, to enhance their every day lives, working situations, well being and security. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
Hijas del Campo was based by a gaggle of girls who met in early 2020 after seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted farmworkers.
Mendoza and Moraida are each first-generation Mexican-American girls whose dad and mom toiled within the fields once they first moved to the U.S.
“My dad didn’t work in the fields too long, but he would always talk to us about how hard that work was and how important it was for us to honor the people who pick our food because it’s a backbreaking job,” stated Moraida, the nonprofit’s program director.
Volunteer Milka Ambrosio kinds and unloads a latest cargo of donated objects whereas at Hijas del Campo in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
The group simply celebrated its fifth anniversary. Over time, it has labored with 500 core households — practically 2,000 folks — by way of outreach actions, giving farmworkers luggage of important, seasonal objects, stated Mendoza, government director of Hijas del Campo.
For instance, throughout the summer time, packed luggage embrace intravenous fluids to deal with dehydration, masks to scale back the chance of valley fever, and sunscreen to guard employees from the solar. In the course of the winter, there are hand heaters, socks, gloves, and scarves, amongst different objects.
“When we say we take care of farmworkers in our county, it doesn’t matter where they’re from,” stated Mendoza. “We’re going to make sure that we have some kind of touch point with them and connect them to resources where they live, if it’s possible.”
Volunteers work on sorting donated garments at Hijas del Campo in Brentwood, Calif., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Space Information Group)
The nonprofit has additionally partnered with Contra Costa Well being Companies, the California Division of Public Well being, and San Joaquin County to tell suppliers in regards to the rise in valley fever and easy methods to acknowledge its signs amongst agricultural employees.
Amid federal political uncertainty, Mendoza and Moraida stated the group can be educating farmworkers on their rights and partnering with immigration regulation teams, such because the Immigration Institute of the Bay Space.
Past well being, training has develop into a cornerstone of their work. The group companions with Lenovo, which donates about 20-30 laptops yearly to college students from farmworker households, and organizes a “Lunch and Learn” program, bringing in professionals who’re both immigrants or first-generation faculty college students to share their tales and encourage college students.
In 2023, Hijas del Campo started constructing 4 tiny properties to supply transitional housing for farmworkers residing in unsafe or substandard situations. Every of the properties presents wraparound providers, together with monetary literacy, psychological well being assist, and healthcare entry.
A part of the lease paid to the nonprofit is deposited right into a financial savings account and returned after two years, in hopes that the residents will probably be impartial sufficient to maneuver out and discover their very own housing.
“The hope is that in two years, they’ll feel more stable and confident. Having a secure place to live changes a person,” stated Moraida.
HOW TO HELPDonations to Hijas del Campo will allow the nonprofit to purchase and distribute 500 meals luggage to 378 low-income farmworker households in Contra Costa County for 2 months, prioritizing entry for individuals who face boundaries to conventional meals help. Aim: $10,000
HOW TO GIVEDonate at sharethespiriteastbay.org/donate or by mail utilizing this type. Donations are tax deductible.
ONLINE EXTRARead different Share the Spirit tales, view pictures and video at sharethespiriteastbay.org.
