It was only six weeks ago that Robert Renteria sat with five members of Arne Duncan’s staff to discuss From the Barrio to the Board Room and utilizing the book within the Chicago Public School system.  We have been diligently following up and talking with their office, not just about the books, but about getting Robert in front of the kids to motivate and inspire them to make positive choices, stay away from drugs and gangs, and stay in school.

Today it was  announced that President Elect Obama has tapped Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education.  We want to wish Mr. Duncan the best of success.  He is truly a man with great vision and intention. We look forward to supporting his efforts to better our schools.

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Last week, while attending the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, I had the chance to hear an amazing story. A lady approached me and told me that her twelve-year-old son was reading my book. Immediately, she started crying and told me that her son had recently been in a near-fatal car accident. The doctors said that, although it would be a slow process, he would fully recover with time. She explained to me that since he is very weak and tired, he is only able to read one page a day, but he has been deeply affected by my story. “He’s inspiring while recovering,” she said, still crying. As I went to hug her, she thanked me and promised me that she would share my story with others.

The heartwarming responses and inspirational stories I continually receive from my readers fuel my passion to keep spreading my message of hope. If you have a story to tell, I invite you to share it with me: Robert@fromthebarrio.com.

If you’re a parent, teacher or caring adult hoping to affect the hopes and dreams of their youth this holiday season (and steer clear of Wii, IPods and any other type of technology), “From the Barrio to the Board Room” should be at the top of the holiday gift giving list.

You’ve heard my story. It is the story of thousands of Latino and ethnic kids who have become entangled in barrio and ghetto life, typically told that they’ll always live a life of gang violence and drugs. Although living in the midst of gang violence where drugs were common, I escaped the fate that befell many of my so-called friends. I am now a successful author and businessman, and my mission is to change lives and work to break this vicious cycle of poverty and violence.

This book is helping others make better choices. Who do you know that could benefit from my story? Whose life could you help change by giving them inspiration to hope and dream with new New Year’s Resolutions for 2009?

Whether it’s an individual that you care about or you simply want to help students, youth organizations or those who struggle to find that glimmer of hope, giving “From the Barrio to the Board Room” this holiday season is a way for you to give back to someone you love or care about.

To start your easy holiday shopping online or 
to learn more about my story, click here.

As you know, I led the March Against Violence at East Aurora High School on September 11th (read the March Against Violence blog post here).

I now have a video from the March. Check it out and send me your thoughts on it: Robert@fromthebarrio.com

Every month, my publishing company and I send out an eNewsletter that details what I’ve been doing around town. It’s a great way to see what I have been up to, as well as what I will be doing in upcoming months. You can read my latest newsletter here.

I encourage you to sign up to receive these eNewsletters by email. It’s a great way to not only stay updated with how I’ve been helping the community, but also to find out how you can help too!

I will be speaking at Waubonsee Community College on November 10th. The event is being sponsored by the Latin American student group, Latinos Unidos. All students are invited to attend, and if you are in the area, I invite you to attend too.

If you’d like to receive more information about it or need directions, please feel free to email me at Robert@fromthebarrio.com.

Last night I joined Robert at East Aurora High School where we sat in on a meeting of Clayton Muhammad’s Boys II Men Fraternity and then worked with them to put Oberweis Family Foundation stickers on the 1001 “From the Barrio to the Board Room” books that were generously donated to the school.  Spending time with those young men and watching Clayton Muhammad, their leader, interact with them with such a powerful combination of respect, discipline, humor and honor, was a truly humbling experience.  Robert and I were a couple of flies on the wall for the majority of the meeting as they discussed recent goings on in the boys lives and some events they had attended.  They discussed the impact of new experiences and watched a photo montage of where they had been over the previous two weeks since their last meeting.  Near the end of the meeting, Clayton asked Robert and I to each say a few words and then the boys engaged us in some questions about the book and about Robert.  Watching them listen to Robert with deep respect and sincere interest was inspiring.  They could relate to him, to his struggle, to his desire to chase that American Dream.  I met Darrius (the bright eyed basketball fanatic and his quiet friend David who joined the group for his first meeting); Mr. Meeks the young eight grader with the bright smile, Tommie (who wants to write his own story); Richard who is in College now and going to have an obvious impact on the students he teaches (following in the footsteps of Mr. Muhammad!); Joshua who has been writing poetry since losing his mother; Pedro the designer (who better reach out and contact me like I told him to!); George the quiet; Giberto (one of the co-presidents) who is always first to speak and be vulnerable, a powerful attribute; and Roberto who recently returned from a Princeton summer program and showed up near the end, dedicated to hustling over to the meeting after work.  These are men who are already making a difference in their communities one day and one life at a time. Clayton asked them to name their “From the”, “to the” in life, and here were some of my favorite responses:

From Mediocrity to Superiority

From Little Boy to Phenomenal Man

From A Minority to a Priority

From the bland taste of Kool Aid to the Exquisite Taste of Champagne

From Dark to Light

Thank you Mr. Clayton Muhammad and Boys II Men for inviting me into your world. I promise I’ll be back to learn from you again.

Corey Blake (from loneliness to feeling part of a family)

Richard and some of the other men placing Oberweis Family Foundation Stickers on the books

 Pedro Gonzalez Checking out the book…

It’s so powerful to see their faces as they identify with the book…

When owner Hilda Chavez went to her safe the other morning to take out the cash drawers to open business for the day at Long Island Sound, she grinned. Not only did she pull out what she needed, her hand touched what is quickly becoming a valuable item in the Aurora and Chicago communities – a precious copy of “From the Barrio to the Board Room!” I had dropped off several copies of the book earlier in the week for an event at Long Island Sound over the weekend. While there I spoke with the service manager about The Barrio Making a Difference Challenge. Although he had been at the book launch in April, he had yet to read the book. Hilda told him, you’ve got to read it! I guess he took her suggestion to heart! A few copies were left out for others to look at, but he stowed away his personal copy safely for the night – under lock and key. I had the pleasure of hearing this story first hand this week, as Hilda told me the story in front of her service manager. I grinned. He grinned. The power and passion is alive and we, together, are changing lives! As Hilda said, “The encouraging words in the last chapter touched me. The book has touched many different people in very many ways.” Where’s your copy kept for safe keeping?

More than 300 students, teachers, parents and community leaders turned out on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 for the premiere of “We Together,” a riveting new documentary by Aurora Cares Corporation in an effort to create awareness and education to reduce the number of youth joining street gangs and to stop the cycle of violence. I had the honor of serving on the Executive Producers committee for the documentary and helped develop the story line as well as organizing the premiere. I also donated and personally handed out copies of From the Barrio to the Board Room to youth at the premier to inspire and empower as many kids as possible to turn away from violence, gangs and drugs.

Click here to learn more and see clips from the documentary.

About the Challenge

Princeton University professors, ghetto and barrio middle and high school teachers, congressmen, and mayors alike are standing behind the message in “From the Barrio to the Board Room.” But there aren’t enough copies getting into the hands of those who can benefit from the message, which is why my publisher and I have created The Barrio Making a Difference Challenge: A Grassroots Movement.

Kids are literally stealing copies of the book from one another because they want them so desperately. Imagine, kids actually wanting to read a book without being told to! I challenge everyone who has the financial means to donate funds or books and get them in the hands of these kids.

With the generous donations given by the Oberweis Foundation (IL), Eastern Funding (NY), and Commack High School (NY), the Challenge has already made it possible for over 1,300 people to receive copies of the book.

How to Take the Challenge

I challenge any business owners and philanthropists to take The Barrio Making a Difference Challenge by making a restricted gift to the school or charity of choice, to allow them to then purchase copies of “From the Barrio to the Board Room.” The tax-deductible donation will demonstrate a desire to support the youth of this country and help others reach the American Dream.

To receive a complete package regarding the Challenge or to learn more about how you can be a catalyst for positive change, contact me at 312.933.5619 or robert@fromthebarrio.com or Corey Blake at 224.475.0392 or corey@writersoftheroundtable.com. You can also visit www.thebarriochallenge.com to download The Making a Difference Challenge PDF.