Support Estela and Her Family

Ben Kuebrich is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Kayla Kelechian.

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“My daughter and my grandson were my life, she was my first born and I feel like a piece of my heart is gone.” -Estela Calderon, mother of Selena Hidalgo Calderon

As members, friends, and staff of the Workers’ Center of Central NY, we grieve alongside Estela for the loss of her 18-year-old daughter, Selena Hidalgo Calderon.

Estela describes Selena as a tender-hearted daughter and loving mother of her one-year-old son, Owen Hildalgo Calderon.

When a mother loses a child, no matter what age, they grieve for their baby, for their toddler, for their teen, for the adult they would have become. The grief of losing a child to illness or an accident is immense but more so losing one’s child to an act of senseless violence. Selena's death is an inter-generational and community-wide loss.

A hard-working mother, Selena was one of the many thousands of upstate NY farm workers who have contributed to the state’s agricultural industry.

Please donate to support Estela and her family.

Selena’s death is an immeasurable loss, but it was also preventable.

We see her death as linked to the precarious, isolated, and vulnerable living conditions of immigrant women working in rural areas. Living with limited resources, little to no access to transportation, and persecuted by state agents, immigrant women are afraid to report domestic abuse or assault and often have no way to leave dangerous situations. As a workers’ center we stand up for the rights and dignity of low-wage workers and build community and organize precisely to end these cycles of isolation and violence. We will continue to fight for a world in which every person has equal access to basic services and protections.

“What has happened to my family is unfair. I want the perpetrator to go to jail forever. I do not want another family to be hurt in this way.”

As Estela’s statement reminds us, we are guided by collective principles of family and community and we mourn and rally alongside Estela because she is part of our extended immigrant family. In these very difficult times we stand in solidarity, in accompaniment, and as witnesses. We denounce all forms of violence against women and children and call attention to the particular vulnerabilities faced by immigrant families.