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Inland Empire, CA – Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE) is an organization whose mission is to train and develop the capacity of religious and lay leaders in congregations and across the Inland Empire to protect and revitalize the communities in which they live, work, and worship. Throughout the pandemic, this organization has done exceptional COVID education and vaccine outreach through various initiatives, including virtual town halls, outreach campaigns, and vaccination clinics in San Bernardino County.
COPE has established strong partnerships with San Bernardino County, Loma Linda Hospital, as well as San Bernardino High School to conduct COVID outreach and vaccination clinics. COPE also utilizes relationships with local community faith partners to connect regularly and coordinate clinic dates. One such partnership that COPE formed is with Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches (IECAAC). Together, they have been able to reach a broader faith-based community. Another partnership with San Bernardino Unified School District has allowed COPE to host vaccination clinics at San Bernardino High School, reaching the school age community.
Some of COPE’s outreach has been by way of virtual town halls, which allows the organization to reach a greater number of congregations and members of the community through social media. These town halls, which are conducted before their upcoming vaccination clinics, have allowed a direct platform for community members to have their questions and concerns about COVID addressed. This platform has been important for COPE as it has been a vital part of their Education for the community as well as given them the ability to understand what people’s fears are. Dates for upcoming clinics and registration links are also provided during announcements at these town halls. In conjunction with the town halls, COPE was also able to launch their Essential Faith campaign which included African American Faith leaders and churches in San Bernardino County communities, with the mission to further share COVID information and discuss the concerns and importance of getting vaccinated.
Laniea King, an administrator and lead on COVID support for COPE said; “One of the most important aspects of this work is community. And so, I think that in this climate, we still have more work to do. We still have to be diligent and make sure that we’re continuing to take the necessary precautions in order to overcome this virus.” Speaking about COPE itself, Laniea said; “As an organization, COPE is committed to continuing this work and will continue to do our due diligence in educating and vaccinating our community”.
To learn more about C.O.P.E. and Administrative Lead Laniea King, visit: Copesite.org.
