Bound to their roots

Many educated and successful Latinos are giving back to impoverished Orange County communities. One month before her son was born, Ernesto Vasquez’s mother moved from Mexico to Southern California. The family lived in East Los Angeles, amid a poverty-stricken population of recent immigrants.

Vasquez is now in a vastly different place. A partner in a major architecture firm, he recently moved with his wife, Socorro, from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach.

Still, he has never lost sight of his roots.

“I developed empathy for the immigrant struggle,” Vasquez said. “What I saw years ago is the same thing we still see in parts of Orange County.”

The Vasquezes give regularly to the UC Irvine Community Outreach Partnership Center, which sponsors diversity seminars and pushes for demographic research at the university.

They are among of a growing number of Latinos who have the means to give back to their communities and help lift up younger generations in need of support.

Latinos make up about one-third of Orange County’s population and about half of the under-18 subgroup, demographics surveys show.

That Latino philanthropists are in a position to help this burgeoning population is a testament to the donors’ political and economic advancement, said Victor Becerra, director of the Community Outreach Partnership Center.

“There’s a new middle class, especially in the Latino community, that is providing a plethora of role models for younger generations to see,” Becerra said. “They are able to give back.”

Many donors are contributing to programs that target low-income and traditionally under-performing students.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Frances Muñoz, the first Latina jurist in the state, played a large role in the creation of Think Together, an after-school program for academically at-risk students held at more than 20 centers.

Almost every student served through Think Together is Latino and from a low-income community, said Mia Castillo, manager of development and communication.

Muñoz, one of 11 children born to a Mexican coal miner, has tutored children at a Santa Ana location for nearly 20 years. She was also one of the founders of the Hispanic Educational Endowment Fund, which provides scholarships and develops academic programs for Latino students.

“I believe firmly that if you are going to have a democratic society, you must educate people,” said Muñoz, a Corona del Mar resident and a retired judge who occasionally presides over cases at the Harbor Justice Center. “There wasn’t much assistance for us growing up. That’s changed. We see it [donating] as something that is needed.”

Maria Elena Avila owns El Ranchito Restaurant in Costa Mesa. She is part of a family who owns the chain of Mexican restaurants.

Becerra calls her by another title, “Comadre,” which means one who watches over you. Avila has supported the partnership center from its inception and is known to help Latino students further their college prospects, Becerra said.

Vasquez donates to the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund, both personally and occasionally through his company. He said Latinos in positions of power are using their cachet to support community causes.

Eddie Marquez, a regional manager at Southern California Edison, is also political liaison for the company. He’s able to tap into Edison’s resources to help those in under-funded parts of the county.

Providing academic scholarships to students on Costa Mesa’s Westside and helping to fund educational outreach programs through the Newport-Mesa Unified School District have been two of Marquez’s corporate-giving projects.

“One of our tasks [at Edison] is to address critical community needs,” Marquez said. “If it seems like we do a lot in the Latino community, it’s because that’s who’s here.”

Becerra grew up in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Santa Barbara and was the first in his family to attend college.

He said he knows firsthand the importance of providing young Latinos with the chance to succeed in the classroom.

“It’s a way out of an economically depressed situation,” he said. “The challenge is to make sure doors remain open.”

20051020iomuf2kn(LA)20051020iomue8knPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, Derek Smith, 20, helps Jose Espinoza, 6, with an abacus as the two work on math problems at Shalimar Learning Center. Below, Adjani Davalos, 6, works with Suleimy Rodriguez, 16. Latino philanthropists help organizations, such as Shalimar, that aid the community.