History

Mujeres Ayudando la Raza first started during the Spring quarter of 1990. As our first year of college life came to a close, we found a dire need for a support group. After observing other support groups, we did not feel our needs were met. What we were seeking was a year away from home was an experience that some of us wanted to share with other Chicanas and Latinas to build on some sort of support or network here on the U.C. Davis campus. By the end of the year, we all came to have a common understanding and the friendships that grew became a retention mechanism to ensure our roles as students on campus. Mujeres Ayudando la Raza was created so that the life of the Chicana and Latina at U.C. Davis would be academically stable, as well as being socially and culturally enriched. We are dedicated to creating enduring bonds of friendship and to share our strength by committing ourselves to the community. By June of 1990, we were determined to create a group that would meet our needs. Thus, we prepared to meet in the Fall of 1990. We registered our new organization with the University as Mujeres Olmecas. We felt this name was appropriate since it originated in Mexico and was the name of a native trive that meant "mother culture". As our constituency grew, we decided we needed a name more representative of our Latina members. A unanimous decision was made to call our group Mujeres Ayudando la Raza.