Think Hopeful, Act Local

What happens when a West Oakland barber of 25+ years decides to turn his shop into something more? In this episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local, Blue Heart's Eva Orbuch sits down with Demorea "Truckie" Evans — the visionary behind Mama Jean's Create Hub — to hear how a pandemic grocery run grew into a full community hub offering youth programs, creative trades, financial literacy, civic education, and so much more. Named in honor of his late mother Mama Jean, and now carrying the legacy of his beloved god-sister India, this is a story about what community truly looks like.

🔗 Learn more about Mama Jean's Create Hub: instagram.com/mama_jeans_createhub
🔗 Learn more about Blue Heart: blueheartaction.org

How can local giving circles transform the way grassroots movements are funded? In this episode of the Say Your Peace Podcast, republished as a special episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local, host Sofia Trifone interviews Blue Heart Director Eva Orbuch. Blue Heart recently joined the Peace Development Fund (PDF) umbrella as a programmatic partner.

Eva shares her journey through anti-war activism, community organizing, and education advocacy, explaining how seeing systemic funding gaps led her to the world of donor organizing. Listen as they explore how Blue Heart flips traditional philanthropy on its head by leveraging a trust-based, peer-nominated "pay-it-forward" model to deliver crucial, unrestricted funding directly to frontline organizations and local artists.

Visit the Say Your Peace episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4P9HXbtCe37j1XhgaHs4uN?si=hKs1S0hUR8Wj8Noj_lBnqA

Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch sits down with Christopher Renfro, creator and director of The Two Eighty Project, in this episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local. Based in San Francisco, The Two Eighty Project is opening up the wine industry by creating pathways into viticulture, enology, and agricultural careers for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ , women, and others who have been historically excluded. Christopher also talks about Feed the People, a mutual aid program that fed 250 families a month with farm-fresh meals, which was modeled on the Black Panther free breakfast program — and what it means to connect land, healing, and community power.

Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch sits down with Davida of North Bay Jobs with Justice in this episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local. Based in Sonoma County, Davida is supporting the development of SEMU — Semillas y Manos Unidas — an emerging immigrant worker cooperative creating a just transition for farm workers and day laborers as the wine industry declines. SEMU's mission is to put land care work into the hands of the people doing it: training workers in fire mitigation, prescribed burns, and vegetation management, building democratic self-governance structures, and growing a worker-owned model rooted in both climate resilience and economic dignity.

Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch sits down with Flavio Martinez, Diego Rodriguez Zamora, and Mercedes de la Torre of In-Advance and the Oakland Freedom Project in this episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local. Based in Oakland's flatland communities historically shaped by redlining and disinvestment, In-Advance runs the Oakland Freedom Project, a community-led initiative that turns political education into action. The organization's mission is to build power from the ground up by training everyday residents in community organizing, creating spaces of belonging through art, theater, and shared meals, and running campaigns driven by the people most affected.

Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch interviews Isaiah Powell of Dragonspunk GRO in this episode of Think Hopeful, Act Local. Isaiah is President of the organic urban farm, which is located on a former dumping ground in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point. The organization’s mission is to bridge the food-access gap in an area designated as a food desert by providing affordable organic produce directly to neighborhood residents while also serving as a community resource and educational space.

Join the movement of Grassroots Giving by becoming a Blue Heart member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠blueheartaction.org/signup⁠⁠⁠⁠ with a monthly donation⁠.

This conversation is between Blue Heart and Auntie Frances Moore, the founder and visionary behind Self Help Hunger Program. SHHP is a grassroots organization based in North Oakland and South Berkeley that uses food as a tool to organize community, provide essential support services, and act as a steward of local land.

Join the movement of Grassroots Giving by becoming a Blue Heart member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠blueheartaction.org/signup⁠⁠⁠ with a monthly donation⁠.

This interview was conducted by Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch.

This conversation is between Blue Heart and Tiny from POOR Magazine. Tiny is an organizer and Poverty Skola, and POOR Magazine is a poor people led/indigenous people led, grassroots non-profit, arts organization dedicated to providing revolutionary media access, art, education and advocacy to silenced youth, adults and elders in poverty across Mama Earth.

Join the movement of Grassroots Giving by becoming a Blue Heart member at ⁠⁠⁠blueheartaction.org/signup⁠⁠ with a monthly donation⁠.

This interview was conducted by Blue Heart's Director Eva Orbuch.

The Regional Tenant Organizing Network (RTO) brings together local organizing efforts from over sixteen jurisdictions across six counties that fight for tenant rights.

Blue Heart Director Eva Orbuch interviews James Huynh, Director of Regional Tenant Organizing Network in this inspiring episode of the Think Hopeful, Act Local Podcast.

In it, Eva and James discuss tenant organizing on many levels, from 1:1 counseling to the more strategic interventions RTO works on. They cover personal motives for wanting to see this work get traction as well as ways to motivate others to engage.

Join the movement of Grassroots Giving by becoming a Blue Heart member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠blueheartaction.org/signup⁠⁠⁠ with a monthly donation⁠.

Bay Resistance is a powerful network of community organizations, unions and neighborhood groups organizing to defend our communities and defeat fascism in the Bay Area.

Blue Heart Director Eva Orbuch interviewed Bay Rising Director Kimi Lee in this episode of the Think Hopeful, Act Local Podcast, where they discuss rapid response action, organizing against fascism at various levels, and the various roles allies and supporters can play in this work.

Join the movement of Grassroots Giving by becoming a Blue Heart member at ⁠⁠⁠blueheartaction.org/signup⁠⁠ with a monthly donation⁠.