North Fair Oaks nonprofit reopens with new location

Levantar, which means ‘to lift’ in Spanish, has been providing services for low-income and immigrant families, including after-school academic enrichment, for over 18 years. First, the group provided these services at local schools, and then at 895 Second Ave., on the border between Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.

In December 2023, the nonprofit learned it was being displaced and would need to relocate that space because of a development agreement between Redwood City and Stanford, which had bought the property for further expansion of its facilities.

After moving into several temporary spaces, Levantar has found a new home at 881 Hurlingame Ave., a spacious building with a large outdoor lot. On the day of the reopening party, that lot was filled with red-checked tablecloths, colorful papel picado, dancers and, fittingly, generations of residents — from babies to elders — celebrating.

“We love you, North Fair Oaks,” Ibarra Miller said. “We love you so much that we refuse to say that we were not going to be here anymore.”

Also in attendance to cut the ribbon on the new building was San Mateo County Executive Officer Mike Callagy, who Ibarra Miller described as a “cheerleader” for the organization.

“This is all about community, and this is the partnership that we want to have with our incredible [Community-Based Organizations] in this community, who serve so many incredible needs for the residents here, for the kids here,” Callagy said. “The generations that you touch are amazing.”

Ibarra Miller said the name change to Levantar came as a time when the local community needed to come together to help uplift and transform one another.

“We’ve all come together because we believe that we’re better together,” she said. “And guess what? We’re going to have to stay really close these days, because the hard times are not over, but together, we will ride this out.”