Last week I presented at the 2016 Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale University. The largest student-run public interest law conference in the country, RebLaw “seeks to build a community of law students, practitioners, and activists seeking to work in the service of social change movements.”

I recently received two striking letters at the RFC. Although they are very different in almost every regard - tone, content, and the personal histories of the authors - taken together I believe they illuminate the core of the RFC and our work.

In the fall of 2015 four new families received their first RFC grants. Including the seven new recipients in the spring, almost a dozen families and targeted activist youth joined the RFC community last year. With the $370,000 we awarded in 2015, our total granted since our founding has reached almost $6 million!

The new beneficiaries include:

The Rosenberg Fund for Children turned 25 this year. The success of this organization, which my father created from the nightmare he experienced as a child, would not have been possible without the thousands of individuals committed to supporting the children of targeted activists. I am honored by the trust my father has placed in me to carry forward his and my grandparents’ legacy, and am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to stand with our beneficiaries. But I am also concerned.

My name is Jacob Rivas, I’m a graduate of Oberlin College and a proud grant recipient of the Rosenberg Fund For Children. I’d like to share my story to thank the RFC for everything they’ve done for me and recognize what they continue to do for others.