Astronaut John “Danny” Olivas, Ph.D., P.E., & Family Are Honored to Announce the Launch of The Space For Everyone Foundation

Today, Astronaut John “Danny” Olivas & Family, are honored to announce the Olivas Family, Space For Everyone Foundation.  A 501 (c) 3 with a mission to support the health and well-being of all children and families, regardless of where they call home.  In addition, the Foundation provides grants to organizations that provide legal resources for all children and families.  All are invited to join the Olivas family for a special launch event on January 5, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA, and encouraged to support Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Witness Fund with donations and by showing support on social media.

“The strength of our great country comes from the diversity of her people.  As all of us who call ourselves Americans can attest, we are in this land because she has been the beacon of light to those fleeing oppression and seeking an opportunity to contribute.  The America we all know and love has embraced those from foreign lands, willing to leave their homeland, for an opportunity to better the lives of their children.”  Noted Astronaut John “Danny” Olivas, “Our family foundation was set up in direct response to the separation of families at the borders seeking asylum.  Marie and I were moved, not only because of our family heritage, but as a family with five children, witnessing the disastrous family separation tactics aimed at deterring immigrants legally seeking to have their claims heard by US courts, and knew we had to get involved.  The launch of the Foundation also serves as the next phase of our “Between Land and Sea – Borders From Space” Fundraising and Awareness Campaign we launched in 2018 to provide needed funds for legal representation to immigrants who had been separated from their families.”

The Space For Everyone Foundation launch event will take place on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at the Performing Arts Center at Vistamar School, 737 Hawaii St. El Segundo, CA.  The general public event will begin at 6:00PM with a screening of the Award-Winning Witness at Tornillo, with featured witnesses Joshua and Melissa Rubin.  Immediately following the screening, there will be a panel discussion about the plight of the current southern border immigrant crisis.  The discussion will be moderated by Pulitzer Prize journalist, author and advocate Sonia Nazario and include a Q&A with Witness Josh Rubin, Astronaut John “Danny” Olivas, Astronaut John Herrington, Astronaut Garrett Reisman and more. The event will be in collaboration with South Bay Cares, and will benefit Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Witness Fund.  Full event details may be found below.

“Joshua Rubin is a national hero as he leads witnesses to document the incarceration of innocent immigrant children.  We are fortunate to have Joshua come to our community to educate and provide opportunities to assist in the fight to free children and reunite them with their families.  South Bay Cares has dedicated itself to educate, empower, and engage the community on these vital issues. South Bay Cares has provided an opportunity for the community to learn more from Joshua’s first-hand experience,” noted Marie Olivas.

“Our family is honored to have Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, author and advocate Sonia Nazario moderate the panel discussion at our Space For Everyone launch event,” commented Astronaut John “Danny” Olivas, “her  remarkable book, Enrique’s Journey, is perhaps the most read current book about immigrants in the U.S. today, and her tireless passion and dedication to helping immigrants, and specifically children, is extraordinary.” 

Inspired by a deep sense of family history, a love of country, and a call to “do something”, Danny and his wife Marie, traveled to El Paso, TX, with an initial goal to provide comfort to immigrant children being detained at the Tornillo facility.  After being denied access, the effort evolved into witnessing many other aspects about the immigration crisis.  The Olivas family was further inspired by the dedication of witnesses, such as Joshua and Melissa Rubin, who took it upon themselves to remain vigilant and document for the world, the conditions of the situation observable to an outsider.  Inspired by these selfless acts of humanity, Danny and Marie were moved to take their “Borders from Space” campaign to a new level and to establish the Olivas Family Space For Everyone Foundation, to fund organizations which directly impact the safety and well-being of children and families.

The Space For Everyone Foundation kick-off will also include a social media awareness and fundraising campaign in support of Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), to support their efforts and care for families, migrants, refugees, and vulnerable communities. 

Donations and more information: https://events.doctorswithoutborders.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.personalCampaign&participantID=5242

Updates to the Campaign will also be posted and updated on the “Olivas Border Blog” on Facebook at @fronteradelmarytierra, #SpaceForEveryone  www.SpaceForEveryone.com

Space For Everyone Foundation Launch Event Details: