Dear City Council, It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to have grown up in Menlo Park. My parents immigrated here from the Middle East in 1986 and I was proudly born here in 1989. In 1996, my family was incredibly fortunate to be approved for 1 of the 10 BMR Duplexes in Vintage Oaks. Had that not been the case, I don't think I would be able to call Menlo Park or the Bay Area home. As someone who has greatly benefitted from programs of the city, I've done my best to give back to the community from a place of graittude i.e. working as a local non-profit leader and volunteering as an area coordinator for our new community resilience program MPC Ready. With that said, if we cut the budgets on community services (especially items 178-181) -- would the children who grow up here want to come back or even be able to come back and serve this community? When I look to the unenviable decisions that need to be made regarding budget cuts, I think that decisions need to come from a place of love for the future of our children instead of fear of the unknown in the short term. In my experience, communities that are deeply connected and neighbors that have places to gather are resilient, peaceful and safe. If we want to make the world more diverse, equitable and inclusive that needs to show up in the choices we're making at a local level. If one of the wealthiest places on Earth can't lead from that place, then who will? With sincere gratitude, Gabi Jubran 255 Gloria Cir -- Gabi Jubran Founder/Executive Director of HAPPI http://happi.org > (Helping Awesome Parents Parent Intentionally) Co-Founder of Digital Wellness Collective http://digitalwellnesscollective.com > TEDx Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeLSxfcoabY > on my journey from burnout to being myself M: 650-353-6055 [ https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1QPp9tgzGhcG42jr95zGUbb0WsGDitrds&revid=0B4YFmCyQdfrnUXRkVzh5ajhjWWtoQWRlR1ROMnF0UFUzalJZPQ ] Received on Thu Jun 04 2020 - 15:39:01 PDT
