Real American Dreaming

If there were a way into the hearts of those "Americans" who daily rail against immigrants (they think that they are only against "illegals," but they are actually denigrating all immigrants and all of us who don't look like what they think Americans look like), maybe more examples of how immigrants understand the American Dream and act on it could do it.

I am going to just quote the entire article here because it is worth the read.

Immigrant gardeners provide seed money for college scholarships
Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 15, 2007
Catalino Tapia came to the United States at age 20 with $6 in his pocket. He worked hard, as a baker and a machine operator, and eventually started his own gardening business. He and his wife bought a home in Redwood City and raised their two sons, putting the eldest through college.

Though he never studied beyond sixth grade, Tapia was so inspired to see his son, Noel, graduate from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley that he decided to help other young Peninsula people make it to college. Now 63, the Mexican immigrant is giving back to the country he says has given him so much.

With legal help from his son, Tapia established a nonprofit corporation, the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation, and recruited a dozen other immigrant gardeners to join the board. This year, the foundation gave out nine scholarships of $1,500, almost double what it distributed in 2006, its first year.

With his callused hands and burly shoulders, the Michoacán native does not fit the typical image of a philanthropist. When Tapia approached the Silicon Valley Community Foundation for a grant to help strengthen the fledgling organization's capacity, he was told the agency had never seen a foundation started by gardeners before. "Well," he replied, "We'll be the first."

When most people think of a philanthropist, they are likely to think of a society matron or millionaire business mogul, said Manuel Santamaría, a program manager at the community foundation.

"In fact, taking tamales to the church potluck or reading in the classroom - all those little acts are philanthropic," said Santamaría. "Philanthropy means love of humankind. We've got to spin a much better view of what immigrants are contributing. ... And Catalino is taking it to a different level."

Tapia expresses a vision - of passing along the prosperity he has earned, drawing community members together for a shared goal and being accountable for the well-being of the next generation - that is eminently philanthropic.

"I believe the education of our young people isn't just the responsibility of their parents, especially in the Latino community where some parents work two or three jobs," he said. "It's our obligation as community leaders, because young people sometimes wander without guidance."

Many immigrant parents arrive with little schooling and don't always understand the importance of college, he said, but children who get an education can contribute much more to this country than those who don't.

One beneficiary, Gloria Escobar, 19, figured out early that college would be the key to her success. Her parents, educated as far as middle school in Mexico, were supportive but could offer little advice or financing. So Escobar, who lives at home in Redwood City, followed her sister to community college in San Mateo County. But the architecture classes she sought weren't available there.

A scholarship from the gardener's fund allowed her to enroll as well at City College of San Francisco - and cover the cost of the commute - where she is earning architecture credits that she hopes will help her transfer one day to Cal Poly or UC Berkeley.

"This was the first scholarship I've gotten," said Escobar. "It's something that would benefit a lot of kids. I know a lot of people in college who want to transfer, but they can't afford to."
At Cañada College, just over the hill from Tapia's home, most students, like Escobar, juggle their studies with part-time or full-time jobs, said President Tom Mohr. Even a modest scholarship can allow a student to spend fewer hours working and devote more time to studying, perhaps taking 12 units a semester instead of six, he said.

The Gardeners Foundation is a wonderful example for the students, Mohr said. "It's extraordinary to see a body of people who are struggling to make it in America also struggling for other people's children. ... Is that not grasping the American dream?"

Tapia is pleased to have a burbling fountain, a grandfather clock and a view of the bay from his Redwood City ranch house, but material comfort has never been enough to satisfy him. So over the years he and his wife, Margarita, have been involved with holiday food drives, neighborhood park cleanups, the North Fair Oaks Community Festival and now the scholarship fund.

Sitting at his dining room table, he tried to describe what prompted him to start the scholarship fund. He sprang up and walked into the den, where Noel's three diplomas are hung on the wall in great gilt frames: a B.A., an M.A. and a J.D.

"When he got his law degree, I was floating in the clouds," Tapia said. Suddenly his eyes brimmed with tears. "The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do something. I got this idea that I could help other students go to college."

The gardeners raise money for the scholarship fund by hosting dinners and requesting donations from local businesses and their gardening clients. When it came to writing thank you notes, though, Tapia was self-conscious of his blocky grade-school penmanship, so he recruited neighborhood teenagers to help him.

San Mateo resident Valerie Constant, who has employed Tapia as her gardener for five years, said she and her husband now make annual contributions not only to Stanford, their alma mater, but the Gardeners Foundation.

"We've given to Catalino ... because we think it's such a fabulous thing he's done," she said. "I wish more people knew about it."

Another gardening client and scholarship donor is so excited about the fund, he's planning a cocktail party to invite his wealthy friends to donate.

The Gardener's Foundation is not the only source of private scholarships for Peninsula teens. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation administers several, as does the Chicana Latina Foundation in Burlingame. Then there are the big, competitive grants like the Gates Millennium Scholars and the Dell Scholars programs.

The Gardeners Foundation is one of the few, however, that doesn't ask whether a student is a legal resident. And that's a blessing for many immigrant students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally.

Tapia enthused about one such student, the daughter of a janitor and a hotel maid, who is attending Mills College with help from the foundation, among other scholarships.

"She has such intelligence and a tremendous desire to succeed," he said. "I think one day, I hope it happens, this country will open opportunities for students like that."

In Washington, Senate Democrats hope for a renewed debate later this fall on the DREAM Act, a long-stalled bill that would offer legal residence to undocumented students who grew up in the United States and are bound for college or the military. Closer to home, a bill dubbed the California Dream Act would have made some state financial aid available to undocumented college students, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it Saturday.

For Latino high school students, the main group Tapia's fledgling foundation has reached so far, the need is great for financial help with college. Only 13 percent of U.S.-born Latino adults in California have a bachelor's degree, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. For immigrant Latinos, the figure is 5 percent.

Alberto Urieta, an 18-year-old from East Palo Alto, was born in the United States. His father, an electrician, died in an industrial accident when Urieta was 12. His mother works two jobs, at a day-care and a Red Lobster restaurant. Though frequent moves forced Urieta to switch schools several times, he managed to keep his grades up, and last month he started his first quarter at UC Santa Cruz, where he hopes to major in molecular biology.

"I guess I've got my father's ambition, because he came to this country and he got his high school education. I want to better myself just like he did," he said. "To receive a scholarship is so much help because the books are so expensive, but also it gives us a feeling that we're not alone; that someone wants us to make our dreams a reality."

That's what Tapia had in mind when he started the foundation from his dining room table.
So far the Gardeners Foundation has only publicized its scholarships through schools and community colleges in San Mateo County, but it is open to low-income students around the Bay Area, Tapia said. Applicants must have a GPA of 2.5 or better and commit to doing 20 hours of community service annually, he said.

"It's a little seed we're planting," he said. "And it will eventually grow a garden of students, and it will flower and bear fruit."

Resources
For more information on the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation:
E-mail: catalinotapia@sbcglobal.net
Write: Bay Area Gardeners Foundation, P.O. Box 3446,
Redwood City, CA 94064
Phone: (650) 670-2566
E-mail Tyche Hendricks at thendricks@sfchronicle.com.