Thank you for welcoming us into your life. Can you believe it’s already been more than half a decade since it all began? 

This past Friday, we gathered with leaders from the community to celebrate Chicanos Por La Causa’s 56th Anniversary. It was a beautiful evening where we shared a traditional meal, nostalgic music from a live band, and our visions for a better future.

This year, we presented Mary Rose Wilcox with our 2025 Legacy for Change Award. Born into a family of activists, she has also dedicated her life to standing up for others and advocating for justice. 

At the beginning of her career, Mary Rose helped members of the Yaqui find employment and housing after an Arizona flood control project displaced them. And throughout her career in public service, she addressed the community’s most pressing needs, challenging the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department’s discriminatory practices and ensuring the continuation of vital HIV services. Outside of government offices, Mary Rose Wilcox has always made space for community leaders to gather and plan their next steps at her family’s Mexican restaurant, El Portal. 

We also honored Jim Shee with our 2025 Cause for Change Award. Born into a Chinese and Spanish American family, Jim Shee has spent his life encouraging people to come together despite their apparent differences—and the Peking Café, his family’s restaurant where they served food from different parts of the world. 

One day, he was unfairly asked to show his “papers” when he was leaving a car wash and had stopped to check a text message. After this experience, he bravely stepped forward with his story and joined other individuals and organizations like the ACLU and NAACP in a lawsuit challenging the law that permitted this unfair treatment. Jim Shee also founded and chaired organizations like the Asian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona and the Phoenix Asian-Hispanic Alliance. 

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, APS, and our Platinum sponsor, HUB International. Your generous support is making our community’s dreams come true. 

From the root, we’ve propelled our community forward by collaborating with people from different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences—and always by listening and leading from the ground up. By staying true to our roots. 

Today, we look back on 56 years-worth of experience and we look forward to continuing our journey forward together, nonstop dreaming and never ceasing to believe that every tomorrow will keep getting better than today. 

So let’s stay close together. Always moving Hacia el Sol. 

If you feel moved to contribute to our cause, please follow this link: cplc.org/donate. 

Thank you for helping us make it this far. Let’s celebrate 56 years and many more to come! 

Con cariño, 

Alicia Nuñez 
President & CEO 
Chicanos Por La Causa