The end of the year was a busy time for donations and sponsorships. IBM helped to place books in multiple classrooms, as did Kendall Immediate Medical Care. Secretary of State Jesse White worked with Borders to place books with St. Charles Youth Prison and Westmont High School. Attorney Fred Morelli single handedly put books into three jails in Kane, Kendall and Dupage County.

Robert presented his story to over 300 inmates at Cook County Jail. It was an emotional time for Robert, who admitted to the inmates that he could have very easily ended up in the prison system for the terrible things he had done when he was younger. After his presentation, inmates lined up to ask Robert questions ranging from how to overcome their own obstacles to how to find support and where to go when they leave the prison system. Barrio books were distributed to the inmates to share throughout the divisions.

Robert and Corey were invited to Los Angeles to present the From the Barrio Foundation to the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) national board of directors who voted to endorse Robert and From the Barrio to the Board Room nationally.

While Robert was in Los Angeles for the LULAC Veteran’s summit he spoke to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about using From the Barrio to the Board Room within the Los Angeles Gang Unit.

To wrap up 2009, Robert was invited by Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley to participate in principal for a day at a CPS school. Robert spent the morning at Evergreen Academy Middle School and then met the Mayor and other city leaders for lunch. The foundations big push in 2010 is to have a huge impact on Chicago students and families. We’re working closely with the Chicago Public School District and other citywide programs to make a difference. Pictured here is Robert with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Michael Ivers, President of Goodcity Chicago.

After more than a decade of planning, a war memorial honoring the nation’s nearly 3,500 recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, was unveiled in downtown LA during out trip to the Veteran’s summit and we had the honor of being invited to attend. In the photo below, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa addresses the crowd. Robert and I are standing behind Hector Elizondo and Lupe Ontiveros, Hispanic Actors who participated in the reading of the names of Latino heroes.

Among many amazing opportunities that have been presented to us lately, LULAC National President Rosa Rosales invited us to attend the LULAC Veteran’s Summit in Los Angeles. We met amazing people, were championed by Maggie Rivera, LULAC Midwest VP and Blanca Vargas, LULAC National Chaplain among others. Below are pictures from our presentation. We walked away with their national endorsement. Thank you LULAC for believing in our mission!

Thank you to Maggie Rivera for her invite to participate in Latino Connection last week. It was an intimate gathering of Latino business owners at Home State Bank in Crystal Lake. We met some wonderful people who voiced deep admiration and appreciation for our work. What stuck with me most was one woman talking about her kids in school are being called “losers” because they are Latinos. This is simply unacceptable and we’re here to do something about it.

RFB&D (Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic) has recorded an audio version of
From the Barrio to the Board Room for use by the more than 237,000 students
nationwide who need assistance to read. Last week Robert went in and
recorded the intro. Give it a listen!

Renteria Dedication

CPS has invited Robert to participate once again in their principal for a day program. Today he is spending the morning at Evergreen Academy Middle School. Principal Marian Strok has this to say about him in their newsletter:

Principal for a Day is approaching. We are hoping to have Latino author Robert Renteria, our speaker at graduation last June, as one of our guests. His book, “From the Barrio to the Board Room” is now part of our 8th grade curriculum. At the graduation ceremony, every 8th grader received a copy of his book along with their diploma as a reminder that even through adversity, you can achieve your dreams.. In the forward of his book, he acknowledges he was a drug user, seller, someone who was stabbed and shot….then turned his life around. This book is an inspiration!