SALT LAKE CITY — A group in Salt Lake City is using this Valentine's Day to help a community that could be feeling scared and worried.
Cutting and gluing are not things you typically see people doing at a coffee shop every day – but that’s exactly what happened at Culture Coffee on Friday, with about 50 people trickling in to help make red ‘know-your-rights’ cards.
"I’m here to support my community, be involved, and to help those in need,” said Alejandra Maldonado, a first-generation Mexican American.
Volunteers like Maldonado packed Culture Coffee in Salt Lake City — especially spreading love.
"We decided to organize this event to create Red Cards, or know-your-right cards, so that our immigrant community and others in our community can simply know their rights if they are detained or stopped by police or ICE and questioned about their status,” said Jeanette Padilla, Founder and CEO of Food Justice Coalition.
They help people dealing with severe food insecurity and had three times the people they planned, show up to make 1500 cards. They had English on one side, and either Spanish or Arabic on the back. Their event was planned for two hours, but everything was done in 45 minutes.
"I want to be someone that is a helper, and a doer, and this is a really easy way to be a person like that and to provide resources to people that need them,” said Abigail Roberts, who saw the call on social media and wanted to volunteer.
Hoping this turnout can send a message to the immigrant community. “They're not alone, we're stronger together in numbers and I think it’s important to protect your community,” added Maldonado.
"This makes me very emotional,” said Padilla. “As a daughter of immigrants, this means so much to me, and to see so many different people come together from so many different backgrounds and so many different communities come together for this cause to help ensure that we're protecting our community members and that we are fighting for justice, this means everything to me."
After the cards are cut, ready, and sealed in envelopes, they are distributed to other community groups to give out to people who might need them.