Donor Spotlight: Jane Chittick

VUCC Immokalee Farmworkers Support Ministry Group members (from left to right) Barbara Zittel, Holly Vincent, Jane Chittick, Paula Hagan, & Nancy Bennett.

The families of Immokalee have had a special place in Jane Chittick’s heart since she first visited the community.

As a member of the Venice United Church of Christ (VUCC), Jane and her friends have been making periodic “immersion” visits to Immokalee for fifteen years and meeting with representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. During these visits, Jane learned of the difficulties these families face and the need for items such as clothing, bicycles, and money.

“Those of us who have taken that journey come back to Venice appalled by the living conditions suffered by the farmworkers,” said Jane, and she yearned for a way she and her congregation members could support the community in the long term.

Help came from a letter from United Church of Christ Florida Conference Minister John Vertigan in October 2019. The letter announced a $100,000 Thanksgiving challenge grant to directly support the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance (IFHA) to help buy property on Lake Trafford Road.

“It really aroused our interest and enthusiasm by giving VUCC a positive way of supporting the possibility of decent, safe, affordable housing in Immokalee,” shared Jane.

The VUCC congregation jumped into action to raise funds, but then the pandemic hit, and fundraising slowed down. However, Jane kept the faith and her infectious enthusiasm, and by late 2020 she had recruited church members to form the Immokalee Farmworkers Support Ministry Group. In 2021, the Group invited Alan Penick, an IFHA Board member, as a guest speaker to kick off a campaign to raise funds for a building on the property.

Alan returned as a guest speaker in 2022 to help raise funds and will be presenting again in March 2023 to raise funds for a second building!

We are grateful to Jane and all the members of the VUCC Immokalee Farmworkers Support Ministry Group!