About

OWOF stands for One World One Family.

Our official name is The Chelsea Area One World One Family Task Force, Inc.

Mission Statement

Adopted 11/13/20

One World One Family is committed to justice and equity for all*. We work to be anti-racist and to oppose discrimination in any form. We engage and empower people to have an impact and change systems to ensure everyone can participate fully in a diverse society.

* all / “ahl” / Noun 1.The whole human family, regardless of actual or perceived age, color, disability, familial status, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, disability status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, veteran status, or weight. Are you represented?

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One World One Family is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We follow all Federal and State guidelines governing charitable organizations. We have a 9-member Board of Directors that serve one-year terms. We generally meet once a month. Meeting dates and locations are posted on our Facebook page or please email us.

Our History

For many years, different groups of Chelsea residents had quietly discussed the (unfortunate) fact that Chelsea has a fairly homogeneous population, that racist attitudes were evident, and that our children were growing up without the tools to live in a diverse world. This all seemed symbolized by the fact that Chelsea had never acknowledged Martin Luther King Jr. Day even though it had been a Federal holiday since 1983.

In November 2001, a group of citizens were finally motivated to action. They organized Chelsea’s first Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in January 2002. To everyone’s surprise and joy, over 500 people turned out.

From this beginning, OWOF has continued to grow. We have organized MLKJr. Day celebrations each year since. In 2003, we began an essay contest which we hope to continue. We have sponsored, along with the District Library, Chelsea’s Community Reads. The first year, the book was Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Patillo Beals, who is one of the Little Rock Nine.

Joanne Ladio, President
Jane Pacheco, Vice-President
Carolyn Stilwell, Secretary
Sandra Vadlamudi, Treasurer
Mark VanDeWege
Christa Williams
Rene Heberle
Debbie Osborne

Board Capture 10-12-21

The Tamale Dinner Fund-Raiser for Jackson County for Immigrants Coalition was a huge success. $1800 was raised through a combination of dinner sales, a 50/50 raffle, and cash/ check donations. Pilar's Tamale's in Ann Arbor kindly provided 189 tamale dinners. Customers could "dine-in" or "take out". A traditional Mexican playlist accompanied dinner. Kitchen volunteers worked tirelessly to get meals plated. A Jackson group member brought along a Mexican vendor cart with authentic Mexican candy to sample for a suggested donation. OWOF Board Member, Christa Williams MD, thanked and welcomed guests, and introduced Gayla Ignacio and Amador Ybarra, two of the representatives from Jackson County for Immigrants Coalition. They spoke about their group and its efforts to support and protect immigrants in Jackson County during the heightened, warrantless, ICE arrests of community members and the effect this is having on community members, local businesses and families. A question and answer-session followed, allowing for further discussion of how their group is responding to the situation, and how concerned Chelsea residents may be able to assist. The generosity and caring community spirit of Chelsea was evident throughout the evening. Many excellent conversations were had. More than one OWOF member heard "I hope you will be doing this again". And at the end of the evening, when volunteers were pitching in to clean up, we drew the winning 50/50 raffle ticket, which had just one word on it: "donate". OWOF definitely looks forward to doing a similar fundraiser in the future.

After the rally on Saturday, come hear from Voters Not Politicians on Sunday.

Great event coming! Pilar’s famous tamales to support Jackson Immigrant Rights activities. They are doing good work with very few resources. Get your orders in now before 10-21.

Voter rights/voter suppression! Important conversation - 5th in our series of Making Sense of the Unprecedented. Sunday 10/19 - 3pm Council Chambers

Sunday, Oct 5. 5pm at First United Methodist Church in Chelsea. Important work!

Reminder for Thursday. Attainable housing basics. A chance to understand how solutions are crafted. Thursday, Sept 25 a 7pm in Council Chambers

We've got alot to talk about!! Let's start with Emergency Powers and Executive Orders and go from there... Sunday, Sept 21 at 3pm at The Chelsea Depot Readings (articles & videos) available at https://owofchelsea.org/resources/community-discussion/ If you run out of time to read or watch, COME ANYWAY!

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