damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today the bay area gardeners scholarship foundation is back, giving more money to bay area students. plus, a personal message to bay area fans by mariachi vargas, on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with a very uniquprogracalled mujeres in accion, down here in the south bay of san jose. with me on "comunidad del valle" are trina trinidad-ramirez over at the oak grove school district and student nayeli zuniga are my guests. welcome to the show. trina trinidad-ramirez: thank you, damian. damian: tell us about the mujeres unidas. what kind of an organization is it and who are you helping? trina: mujeres in accion was organized by just a bunch of women in the community, latina women who wanted

to give back to the community. they're different professionals. we're all working moms. and we've organized to give back to the community, and it resulted in giving back to caroline davis intermediate school, oak grove school district. and we run a girls' group there. it's a 12-week program where we honor our past, and unite our present, and guide our future. damian: we talked in previous segments about maybe sometimes when students begin programs like this that they're, like a lot of us, in a shell, and then once the program's over, they're out of that shell and they're the leaders, and speakers, and outspoken, and whatnot. trina: definitely. and that's what we're trying to accomplish. we also want to, in honoring our past, there's so many of us women in the group felt the need to give back as people had done before us. i'm a product of the enlace program, evergreen valley college, the faculty mentorship program through uc santa cruz,

and also madres in accion, which in our school district, oak grove school district, was an organization of mothers who organized to link into the school system, linking the community into the school system and getting a voice for their children, for themselves. so, that's how we came up with our name, mujeres in accion, because of that program that existed back when i was in school, and we're the product--three of the founders of the women's group are products of that. and it just--being that i work at oak grove school district, it was a nice link. damian: and it snowballed from there. tell us what you've gotten out of it, and are you one of those who was in a shell and now is an extrovert? nayeli zuniga: yeah. this program helped me a lot. it inspired me to become a wonderful woman like the leaders of the group. it helped me gain confidence in myself.

it's much more easier to speak among a lot of people now because that helped me a lot. being in that group, we would speak and, like, talk about our culture and what we do, the different things we do in our culture. it, like, helped me gain a lot of confidence in myself. it just helped me a lot and it was inspiring listening to all these wonderful stories about these women and how they become the person they are now. it's really nice listening to different things, like how they've overcome everything and how they become the great person they are. damian: yeah, they want you to go ahead and succeed. you know, i have two girls. they're ages 8 and 10, and they're all into girl power. is that what this is about, or kind of in a way? nayeli: in a way, it is, yeah. it's, like, all these, like, women who are together and they're, like--we're all powerful together. it just felt so good being with them, like, together, being together. i had, like, a lot of confidence,

and that's how i gained confidence in myself. damian: that's great. last question. the feeling of knowing that you're helping these young ladies kick the door down and walk right in. trina: this is what it's about, you know? hearing her story, and hopefully for other people to hear about what we're doing so that they also empower and make change in their community, because our future--i mean, in part of our program, we want the girls to continue giving back as well. so, you know, in guiding our future, we expect them to, you know, give back to the community where they're coming from, to empower the community. damian: all right. well, it's called mujeres in accion and they're at the oak grove school district in san jose. there is the number and web address of the district for more information. thank you all so much for coming and for empowering our young latinas. both: thank you. damian: all right. and up next here in "comunidad del valle," healthier kids, stay with us. thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real?

of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast with me on "comunidad del valle" is chief executive officer

kathleen king, and erika gonzalez is also with the healthier kids foundation. welcome to the show. kathleen king: thank you for having us, damian. damian: thank you. well, give us an update. what is the latest? i mean, i read that 97% of the children are now covered. kathleen: yes. we have more children, a greater percentage, covered in this county than all the other 57 counties in california. damian: that doesn't happen overnight. i mean, a lot of hard work and the programs that you have. tell us about those programs that you're offering. kathleen: well now, we figure if every child has insurance, what's next? it's about prevention and prevention. so, we try and help all children in this county, 6 months old to 19 years old, get to an eye doctor if they need to, a dentist if they need to, and a hearing specialist if they need to, using their insurance. damian: tell us about your involvement, erika, if you will. erika gonzalez: so, i'm an outreach coordinator, and what we do is once the children receive the services or the screenings, then our responsibility is to educate the parents and walk them through the whole entire process to make sure that they have the resources that they need

and that they understand the results that the children get. so, for instance, if the child needs glasses and they get a result of myopia, we really wanna explain to the parents what that result means, how they can get those services, and where they can go based on their location. damian: what difference do you think that has made in those families and those children, the fact that now there's preventative care, they're being diagnosed, and they're taking care of whatever problems they might have. erika: a lot of the parents share that this resource is--that our services are given to them in spanish or their native language, which i think is really important. and i think that they understand what they need to get, which is the most important thing. and they're able to go where they need to go. a lot of the children are showing a lot of results in economic--i'm sorry, educationally. their grades are better. they are in the honor roll system.

they're also hearing a lot better. so, it has a great impact in the children's lives. damian: it makes sense, right kathleen? if there's a child who really can't see--i was gonna use "chalkboard," but we don't use chalkboards anymore. we use promethean boards. kathleen: we use whiteboards. whiteboards. [damian laughing] i mean, if your child cannot see because they need glasses or whatnot, i mean, it's gonna affect what they're learning and how much they're learning. kathleen: right. we use the latest technology too, 'cause the eye chart was developed during the civil war, and we feel the eye chart may show distance issues, but doesn't show, necessarily, the problems with why you can't read. so often, children will be diagnosed having trouble to read and we believe, get 'em in glasses first before you worry about add, any other issues. get 'em in glasses. so, we've screened about 34,000 children in the last 3 years and put about 1,500 into glasses that we don't know if they would've gotten them otherwise. damian: how are you able to do that? i mean, that's a lot of work and that is a huge accomplishment. kathleen: erika does.

[laughing] kathleen: no, we find if we do it at the schools that we're much more efficient. so, we can screen 600 children in a morning, either vision, dental, a little longer for hearing, 'cause hearing takes about 2 minutes each. you really should screen your children for hearing. we have for vision before, but not hearing. and so, we find if we can do it at the schools, you know, the nurses are extremely busy these days and we're just there to complement what they're already doing. damian: in the valley of the rich and the poor where we're at now, i mean, your programs have to make a huge difference to those families you're serving there. kathleen: absolutely. and then we're working on healthy lifestyles, 'cause we wanna make sure all children understand about food, and about getting enough exercise, and staying away from too much screen time, and the big one is enough sleep, because we find our children just aren't getting enough sleep these days. damian: what is the recommended dosage of sleepage? kathleen: it's pretty high. for, i think, a 6-7 year old, it's like 12 to 14 hours.

yeah, so, and our high school kids aren't getting enough. so, this is a three-class series for parents to learn about setting routines. damian: okay, well, you know, if you need more information, there's lots to talk about and we can't get to everything here on this show, but there's the web address for more information, there's the number to call. any final thoughts, kathleen, before we let you go, about the healthier kids foundation? kathleen: we just love what we're doing. we say it's about health, not healthcare. and if we can get kids healthy when they're very young, our hope is that helps 'em as they grow older. damian: all right, thank you so much for what you're doing in the community. erika: thank you. damian: and up next here on "comunidad del valle," the gardeners giving money away in scholarships. stay with us.

(music plays from one way or another )♪♪ ♪ i'm gonna find y♪ i'm gonna getcha ♪ ♪ getcha getcha getcha ♪ one way or another ♪ ♪ i'm gonna win ya ♪ i'm gonna getcha ♪ ♪ getcha getcha getcha ♪ one way or another ♪ ♪ i'm gonna see ya ♪ (inhales cigarette) is back at it, giving money. with me on "comunidad del valle," is the founder, don catalino tapia, and jimena gomez is the office manager there for the foundation. thank you so much for being on the show. jimena gomez: no, thank you. catalino tapia: thank you. damian: don catalino, your story is a fascinating one. we've done it so many times here, but basically, you came

as an immigrant, you became a gardener, and you said, "i wanna help other young people go to college." catalino: well, yes. first of all, i wanted to thank you for having us here again. damian: thank you. catalino: and i wanted to say that my son was my motivation for starting the bay area gardeners scholarship foundation because, as you know, when we come from mexico, we come with no money at all. when i arrived to redwood city, i had $6 in my pocket. and then throughout the years, i went to my son's graduation from law school from berkeley, and that's what motivate me to do what i'm doing right now. damian: and it has to be something that you have here también, no, that makes you say, "well, you know what? i need to do something." catalino: you know, that night, despite all the

excitement that we had, my family and i, i noticed something very sad as well, and that was that the-- only a handful of latinos graduate that night. and i say, "well, something is not matching here, you know? the numbers are not matching." so, i promised myself to do something to somehow help more and more students to give their parents the opportunity to experience the excitement that i was going through that night. damian: no, that's great. catalino: and that's how the bay area gardeners foundation scholarship was born. damian: and there's some of your workers. now you have your own company. you hire your own gardeners to go to the different homes. jimena, what kind of money are we talking here? that's a lot of scholarships that you've given out and you keep giving out. jimena: we keep giving out, and this is our 10th annual anniversary this year, and we're planning to give out 30 scholarships this year, 10 more than we usually do.

the past 7 years, we've been giving out 20. just to make our 10th annual anniversary more special, we're giving out 30 scholarships. to this day, we have given out 173 scholarships, plus the 30. we're gonna be up to 203 scholarships. for the small foundation that we have, we are going fairly quickly, and we are very proud of it. and we're just so happy to help all kinds of, you know, students who are undocumented, low income, unrepresented students in san mateo, santa clara, and san francisco county. and we are more than excited to give 30 in july 9th, and everyone's welcome to our recognition dinner. and it will be taken in palo alto in lucie stern community center. damian: that's july 9th? jimena: and that is in july 9th. and all community members are welcome so they can see what, you know, we're working on. and we work throughout the year to get donations from, you know, individuals, from corporations. and every single dollar counts that goes to someone's future. and me myself as being a latina and going to education while

working hard full time, it's just been an honor to be now part of the foundation for about 6 months and helping get more, you know, fundings makes us very--you know, it's just a joy to work here and seeing more of my own kind and other ethnicities that are so low, you know, in a low income group graduate, you know? damian: no, that's good work. don catalino, that's 30 scholarships. does that mean you have to mow the lawns of 50 houses day, not 30? catalino: well, can you imagine how hard it is to get the money for 30 students? so, the board members and jimena and i are working extra hours to get the money. but at the same time, it's so rewarding when you see the kids receiving the check. their smiles, their faces, you know, they're all happy,

and that what makes us very proud, you know? so, motivate us to keep working to continue with our dreams. damian: that's what it's all about. catalino: and our missions. damian: let's look at that information. if you'd like to even contribute to the scholarship foundation, 'cause that's 30 scholarships that they're giving out this year. again, july 9th is their scholarship awards dinner on the peninsula. log on for more information on that event, and you can call that number for more information. thank you so much. i'm honored to call you my friend. catalino: thank you, thank you. jimena: and students, please apply. the deadline is may 5th, and there's 30 scholarships this year. damian: still time to apply! we came with the money today. gracias, we'll see you out there. and up next here on "comunidad del valle," el consulado mexicano a quién conoces. stay with us.

thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast with the consulado mexicano de mexico. with me here on "comunidad del valle" are alan sau on "comunidad del valle,"

and also jaquelyn villanueva. they're a monthly visit to the show and talk about different topics. welcome to the show. jaquelyn villanueva: thank you so much. damian: well, first topic is of course a contest that they have children. it's called cónsul por un día. you can be the consulate general of mexico and san jose for one full day. tell us about that, jaquelyn. jaquelyn: correct. well, this is our 5th year doing this contest, and it's open to 4 counties: santa clara, santa cruz, san benito, and monterey. correct. so, it's for kids, 5th graders, good grades, good conduct, and they need to be fluent in spanish. damian: and they get to walk around and be the head honcho for a day. jaquelyn: yes, they can, but they first need to elaborate an essay in spanish, and they need to answer this question: what is mexico for them? so, they need to send this essay to the mexican consulate. the address is 302 enzo drive, suite number 200,

san jose, california, 95138. damian: and what's the deadline for that? when do they have to submit that by? jaquelyn: it's april 19th. so, we're gonna have an interview for the finalists on the 21st of april, and the next day we will have the winner. damian: oh, very cool. well, that's a great program. we've had the children actually on the show and it's a great opportunity for them. another program that the consulado has that we want to get to also is organ donation. alan sau: yes. as many people know, during the month of april in the united states, they celebrate organ donation month. so, in coalition with the organization donor west, which is the one that manage the donor network in california, we are working together to create awareness in the latino community about the organ donation issue that,

because we have low participation from latinos and we want to increase that. damian: why do you think that is? why do we as latinos kind of--why are we a little more reserved, maybe, when it comes to signing our name and saying, "take my organs when i leave." alan: most of the things that we're seeing is cultural. the culture is one of the matters, religious too. and one of the main issues is the lack of information, the lack of information about what exactly donation-- organ donation is, and what they're gonna do with you. and that's why we try to educate the latino community through our consulate. damian: talk about the beauty of donation organs and the life that you're saving on the other end. talk about that aspect of it, if you will. alan: so, it's--there's a lot of people, they don't know after we don't need our body, we can save a lot of life

with just saying yes. in this case, if you go to the dmv and you fill the application and they ask you. if you say yes, when you don't need your body anymore, you can save a lot of life. and we're trying to--like i said, we're trying to create awareness on that part and educate to the latino community that it's not something that is bad. damian: well, the consulado's a great place to do that because of the population that arrives there. a lot of other programs. any other programs that you think we should mention here on the show today? alan: so, basically, through ventanilla salud, our program that we have permanently in the consulate, we can get different health services for the community and references to the underserved community where, like i said, we can refer them to where they can attend if they don't have any health services. damian: all right. well, give me the phone number one more time if you don't mind so that in case somebody has any more questions or if they want

to be a cónsul por un día, where they can call. jaquelyn: yes, give us a call at area code 408-294-3414, extension 133. i'll be answering that line. damian: all right, well, thank you so much for the work that you're doing and we'll see you on telemundo side. both: thank you. damian: all right. and here is our contact for more information. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. you can also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. we thank you one more time for sharing a part of your sunday with us on "comunidad del valle." we're gonna leave you now with a special personal message to everybody in the south bay from mariachi vargas de tecalitlán. they'll be here on mother's day weekend, may 7th, at the san jose civic, buenos días. [speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language]

damian: with you, ladies and gentlemen, el mejor mariachi del mundo, mariachi vargas de tecalitlán. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music]

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