LEAP’s Green Raiteros electric vehicle ridesharing program gets loaners to expand services
.JPG "Huron Mayor Rey León, who is also executive director of the LEAP Institute (right) with General Motors regional director Juanita Martínez with the keys of the four Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles provided by GM as a loan for six months to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations and testing by expanding sustainable transportation options to Fresno County farmworkers and their families.")
It’s been a few years since the Green Raiteros program started in Huron, serving a community in dire transportation need.
And on Wednesdays (Aug. 11), The Latino Equity Advocacy & Policy (LEAP) Institute and General Motors (GM) joined forces to fight against COVID-19 by supporting Central Valley farmworkers in need of transportation to testing and vaccination sites.
The new collaboration between the LEAP Institute and GM will help to expand LEAP’s Green Raiteros electric vehicle ridesharing program.
Huron Mayor Rey León, who is also executive director of the LEAP Institute, said the raiteros program is the hallmark of the organization.
“We are able to provide rides to farmworkers families to their essential appointments such as medical and social services,” León said.
GM is providing LEAP with four Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles as a loan for six months to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations and testing by expanding sustainable transportation options to Fresno County farmworkers and their families.
General Motors regional director Juanita Martínez thanked León and his staff for reaching out to GM “to give us an opportunity in inviting us into your community to participate and to be able to loan these vehicles out.”
.JPG "GreenRaiteros-Huron_8-11-21_MOB (1).JPG")
Martínez said the electric vehicles will help “support the vital work that LEAP Institute, Fresno County, and other local officials and leaders are doing to expand access and essential medical services.”
León said that even thought is a six-month loan, the organization is going to be fundraising as much as they can to keep those vehicles in Huron and continue to help people like Rafael Castillo who has been using the raiteros program.
“We are very grateful for these cars that have arrived. It’s actually a very big support,” said Castillo in Spanish.
“And we will be using the heck out of these vehicles to uplift farmworker families in our fight against COVID-19,” León said. “Coronavirus is not over yet. We are having issue with the Delta variant and we are working hard to combat it effectively using all the resources at hand to help the community.”
Riders can book a Raiteros via phone (559) 945-RIDE (7433).
This content is made possible through a grant from the Latino Community Foundation.
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 11 de agosto de 2021, 5:18 p. m..
