By Pamela Cruz and Anna Lee Mraz / Peninsula 360 Press
Silicon Valley Community Foundation ?SVCF? recognized and celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Castellano Family at an event on May 4 at the De Anza Hotel in downtown San José, a non-profit organization that was born out of luck and love for the roots , and that provided opportunities and support for the Latino community in Santa Clara County for two decades.
“Was everything the result of the love between my parents, the love that my mother had for her community?” Armando Castellano, Emeritus Trustee of the Castellano Family Foundation, told Gina Dalma, executive vice president of Community Action, Policy and Strategy for Silicon Valley. Community Foundation, how the organization started that after 20 years closed its doors.
In the talk, Armando Castellano highlighted the love that his father Alcario always had for his mother Carmen and continued her legacy even when she was gone.
With a totally Latino focus, this foundation created by Alcario and Carmen Castellano, who won 141 million dollars in California in 2001, money with which they decided to help the community to which they belong, the Latina, was a pillar in the community of Silicon Valley.
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20 years have translated into thousands of scholarships for children, youth, and adults who have promoted Latino arts and culture in the region.
In addition to this, they added programs focused on low-income Latino youth, at risk or incarcerated to achieve their educational goals, such is the case of Summer Bridge, mentoring and tutoring to promote retention and follow-up; and foster parent/family awareness and knowledge of their children's college requirements, academic supports, and academic socialization.
Likewise, over two decades the Castellanos created strategies to promote Latino leadership and diversity such as leadership development focused on Latinas and youth, training/education programs designed to increase the diversity of local boards without for-profit, and collaborating with non-profit partners to create or expand paid internships for Latinos.
At the tribute to the Castellano family, it was announced that their foundation is ending its work and a $1 million fund was allocated to SVCF to support Latinx leadership and Latinx-serving nonprofits in San Diego counties. Matthew and Santa Clara.
On the nonprofit panel, Manuel Santamaría, vice president of community action for the SVCF, Diane Ortíz, executive director of the Youth Alliance, and Dr. Adriana Ayala, executive director of the Chicana Latina Foundation; They highlighted that only 1 percent of philanthropy resources support Latino organizations, so they called to ensure that funding for Latinx-led and Latinx-serving organizations grows.
This, they specified, so that these communities can build their power and realize a bright future.
To support the LatinXCEL Fund, launched in 2021 by SVCF and the Castellano Family Foundation, contact donate@siliconvalleycf.org. The LatinXCEL Fund seeks to raise $10 million over five years to support nonprofit organizations and leaders serving the Latinx community in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
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