Inspiring Speakers
Posted by Suguna Alluri
on Sep 08, 2015
Katia Gomez - What a pleasure it was to listen to the story of a young girl from California who with a Scholarship from District 5170 pursued and completed her studies from Boston University and with the help of grants went on to start a non-profit organization called Educate2Envision. As the key speaker at the Rotary Cabinet Meeting on Sept. 2, 2015, Katia held the listeners captivated accounting the story of her organization that currently helps run programs in 6 different communities throughout Honduras - serving approximately 2,500 villagers. They sponsor over 100 secondary school students, offer additional education programs for 300+ primary school students, work with youth and especially the girl child from underserved areas, to be their own innovators in tackling poverty. Educate2Envision goes beyond donating school supplies and building schools - they help drive economic development in rural communities through student-run small businesses. Their core strategy replaces traditional student sponsorship models with a cost-effective work-study program that delivers financial aid in return for student-led community service projects, and invest in education programs that directly lead to sustainable financing of education for future generations to come. Forbes magazine and many other publications have listed Katia as one of the 25 young women entrepreneurs to watch out for.
Magdalena Carrasco - A young mother of 4 propelled into politics wanting to give her children and the children of East San Jose a safe neighborhood to grow up in. Speaking at our Club meet last Thursday, the City of San Jose Council Member discussed the various issues that have been plaguing our neighborhood such as High rates of Violence, Unemployment and Low Income, Disengaged and Disenfranchised youth, Cleanliness, Hunger, Expanding Ghettos etc. Through the past year, tackling these various issues through Community Driven Programs has been her forte. She believes that the youth of East San Jose need a clear direction and should be ensured a direct path to the abundance of Silicon Valley. Community Walks, Dumpster Days, National Night Outs, Monthly Newsletters, Art Projects, Opening Up Closed Community Centers, Expanded Library Hours and School Hours, After School Programs, Parent Child Programs, Summer Internships are some of the various solutions she has adopted to work on these issues. Our Rotary Club has been participating in some of these activities and is committed to continue to work with her and the city to make East San Jose Matter.