Big hearts filled the room at Long Island Sound in Aurora for the Compassion Foundation’s Community Champion awards on Wednesday night. The first time event celebrated community members who make a difference in the lives of many.

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On the evening of January 6th, Robert celebrated Noche De Reyes hosted by La Quinta De Los Reyes in Aurora, IL. The night was filled with several hundred kids and their family members from Aurora and surrounding communities who also gathered to celebrate and receive toys, gifts, candy and more. Pictured is Robert with Congressman Foster talking to and handing each child bags of candy. It was a truly remarkable night and Robert wants to personally thank the Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as all the community leaders who supported these families.

In January, Fred Morelli donated Barrio books to prisons in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties. Fred believes in Robert’s inspirational message that you can be anybody you want to be, that gangbanging and violence are not a lifestyle but a death-style. The future belongs to those who believe in themselves and Fred plans to work with Robert and the Barrio Foundation to help as many people as they possibly can to live productive and meaningful lives.

Weed & Seed Site Director Pam Bradley and Robert Renteria will be visiting a classroom at Waldo Middle School next week in Aurora, Illinois to interact and engage with students who have already read the Barrio book. Pam shares Robert’s passion and they have a mutual desire to inspire and motivate our teens and misguided youth to make better choices! They are currently collaborating together to introduce and implement From the Barrio to the Class Room into the Weed & Seed programs throughout the country. Thank you Pam Bradley for helping make a difference!

With only one year of programming left, it is both imperative and crucial that we make the effort to get Robert Renteria,Latino author of From the Barrio to the Board Room, to meet with Oprah’s producers. We ask you to please take two minutes of your time to fill out this form that goes directly to Oprah’s team. Please tell them about your belief in the Barrio book and the impact we are experiencing in helping to change the landscape for our youth across America: http://www.oprah.com/ownshow/plug_form.html?plug_id=3337311

We were incredibly blessed the other night when we launched the Spanish version of the book: Desde el Barrio Al Exito.  In attendance were Senator Linda Holmes, Senator Chris Lauzen, State Rep Linda Chapa LaVia, 2nd Ward Alderman Juany Garza, Mayor Thomas Weisner, LULAC National Chaplain Blanca Vargas and an amazing community of supporters.  More details and pictures will be released in a newsletter next week! Thanks to all for supporting!

Today, Robert and I were honored to speak with Resurrection Blvd producer and writer Dennis Leoni. He graciously gave us his time and we discussed Barrio’s inevitable rise to Hollywood and the universal theme of the book.  None of us were sure how this might play out, but we all agreeed that there is a story here worth telling. Robert sent Dennis a copy of the book this afternoon and we look forward to conitnuinng the conversation.

If you live in or around Aurora, check out today’s edition of the Beacon, Saturday July 18th, 2009.  Robert is front page news! It’s time to get involved.  If you’re part of a school, the time is now to order your books for the fall.  The Curriculum is being offered FREE for the 2009-2010 school year!

“LOCAL AUTHOR GETS BOOKS INTO CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS”

From the Barrio is available to work with your school or program. There are no cookie cutter solutions to keeping kids out of gangs, off drugs and in school. We are here to serve you in working with these kids. Join the ranks of others we are partnering with such as:

• Roosevelt High School
• Evergreen Middle School
• Wells High School
• Morton West High School
• Aurora East High School
• The Illinois Welcoming Center
• Swedish Covenant Hospital
• Aurora University
• Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities
• Aurora Police Department
• Family Focus
• Mutual Ground Battered Woman’s Shelter
• Aunt Martha’s
• Jesse Torres Boxing Club
• Morton Freshman Center
• Morton Alternative School

For more information please call Robert directly at (312) 933-5619