llo, and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today the 49ers are giving back on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ damian: we begin with another agency that's also giving. that's the family giving tree, and with me is edgar medina. edgar is actually the director of beacon program over at dover elementary in san pablo. edgar, welcome to the show. edgar medina: thank you so much damian for having me here. we are excited to show--be showcasing the family giving tree today. i couldn't really hear you at the beginning.

there was a little bit of a breakup. but i'm just here to share with you guys about this awesome nonprofit agency who is family giving tree who has partnered up with the city of san pablo and the youth--specifically with the youth school and community partnerships division. we've been in partnership with them for 10 years. and the family giving tree has been really critical with providing our youth and families with the type of support to get them ready for the beginning of the school year. and what's more important than backpacks, right? we know how important it is for the youth to feel prepared and feel good, right? there's nothing better than the smell of a brand-new backpack. and so the family giving tree has been--in the past years, 10 years now, has donated about 3130 backpacks across five different elementary schools here in san pablo; five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. so it's huge.

damian: and, i mean, you know, i don't think that the--if i had a backpack in school, it was the same backpack for the 5, 6 years that i went to school, but, you know. so it helps. whatever they're doing to make these students feel better, to be this--give them the tools that they need so they can focus on learning. there's nothing better than that. edgar: right. that's right. i would add that additionally, during pandemic time, right, we know that our students are coming back with a lot of emotional or a lot of emotions and emotional needs, not only our students, but also our staff, and our families, our community, the world in general, right? we're all kind of healing from having gone through a pandemic together. and so different resources and partnerships like the family giving tree allows schools like dover elementary school to be

able to continue to be a full-service community school to provide these types of resources to our students, but also it helps us to leverage the resources that we have so we don't have to worry about providing backpacks to our students. we can leverage our funding and figure out how can we bring more resources into the school to now address what we've paid having the need for social emotional support, again, not only for our students, but for our community as a whole. so i think little things like that build to the confidence of our youth, but to also help us to leverage the resources that we have our school sites. damian: and, you know, edgar, you and i were having a small problem this morning with this recording because of the--our internet connection, but imagine what the kids are going through [speaking foreign language] in the house. if there's five students in one home sharing that hotspot, it can't be--it couldn't have been that easy this past year. edgar: for sure. that was definitely a challenge.

getting students--first, getting students online was a challenge. finding our students, we were--we had a great team administration that was on point from the moment that we discovered we were going on distance learning, but they were on point to try to connect for their families and try to onboard them to the process of going online. of course, it wasn't easy. so many hiccups. as you mentioned, we had households who shared the hotspots or we had households who shared a bedroom, right? so we had multiple students who were not only sharing a hotspot, but also could hear one another's classrooms. so there--it was a challenge, but i also like to focus on the gains. there were a lot of gains. there's a lot of talk about learning loss, right, but there's also a lot of gain. there's tech gain. there's families who were able to communicate through different methods. whereas pre-pandemic, we were just used to in-person, right,

which is what we miss now, right? but we were able to gain so many things and build our students capacities, our family's capacities, and our teachers, right? one of our teachers joked that we didn't think that youtubers were ever going to make money, right? here we are, the educators teaching students through a platform similar to youtube, right? damian: yeah, and, you know, what's interesting, and we mentioned on the show before, is that we may have bridged a digital divide that we talked so much about. now we all have that connection. but it's about the family giving tree that's at it every year. and so kids will be going back to campus, and so they'll need their backpacks and everything else that goes inside of them. there's the information on your screen for more information. we'll be back and talk to edgar more about the needs of the family giving tree. so stay with us. ♪♪♪

with edgar medina and talking about the family giving tree. and like we mentioned, edgar, the kids are going back to school now on campus, in-person learning for the most part, and

so they're going to need those backpacks, and the pencils, and the paper, whatever else goes inside, the rulers and staplers. edgar: yeah, absolutely. it's so important for students to feel prepared to come to school, right? it's like a checkoff list where you have your haircut, you have your shoes, you have your backpack, right? what's more important than your utensils and feel prepared to be at school. there's so many things that we can do to support our communities during this time. i know that coming back to school from a distance learning is a challenge, right? but there's things that as commute--as you can either donate. you can volunteer. contact the family giving tree. the city of san pablo has been such a great partner with the family giving tree for 10 years now. in those 10 years, again, i would like to share that we have received a total of 3130 backpacks.

that's 3130 youth who feel that much more confident and prepared to be at school. so yeah, we were excited to continue our partnership with the city of san pablo here at our beacon sites, but also with the family giving tree. damian: and, i mean, that's just one less worry for the parents. that's one less expense per child 'cause it's not cheap per child. and as we mentioned, the child--all the child has to worry about is sitting on that desk and listening to the teacher and learning, not worrying about, "where am i going to put my books? where am i going to get the binders?" let us, the community, worry about that. edgar: absolutely. we have families who are asking, right? "this is-is still happening? so many things are up in the air." we were so happy to confirm to them that, yes, this is actually something that has not happening in the air. family giving tree has been working really, really hard to continue to have these resources for us all, especially now.

i feel like now it's needed much more than ever. damian: well, i've asked a lot of questions. you probably have a checklist of things you wanted to get across. this is your chance. edgar, what haven't i asked you? edgar: yeah, absolutely. i think the main point is that just continue to support our youth. support our different nonprofit agencies like the family giving tree. to find more information, you can visit familygivingtree.org. again, you can volunteer your time. you can donate. there's so much that can be done to support our families, our youth, and returning back to school. damian: and describe the look in the eyes of those chavelitas, if you will, edgar, when they're going to choose-- edgar: yeah. well, actually, it's the--we're going to get to see those faces once again, that immediate gratification when you see those smiling faces of the youth, but it's even a greater surprise when they open their bag and they see all the utensils inside and it's brand new.

you get that smell of those crayons, you know. those faces just light up. it's--yeah, so do you want to be part of that? i encourage you to. damian: and it lets them know and lets their parents know that this educational road that they're on, they're not alone on that road. that there's people surrounding them, guiding them through to success. edgar: yeah, for sure. yeah, it's definitely--it takes a whole village to make things happen. not only our families are appreciative too, but our teachers are also appreciative that families don't have--again, they usually at the beginning of the school year, those of you who have children may know teachers give you a check-off list, right, of pencils, crayons, all those different things. family giving tree is so great at also reaching out to the sites to get more information of what is exactly needed. so we're able to-- items of requests that our teachers are asking for. of course, it all depends on the--

but i will have to tell you, damian, that all the time they've delivered, we've got what we need at every-- damian: i bet. edgar, thank you so much for the work that you're doing there in san pablo. again, it's with the help of the family giving tree. there's this information on the screen for more information. donations are needed because our kids they are going back to school. thank you, edgar. up next on "comunidad del valle," another agency or a corporation that is also giving back, the san francisco 49ers. stay with us.

with us from the san francisco 49ers on "comunidad del valle" is emilio cortez to represent the 49ers edu program. now, emilio, i was promised jimmy garoppolo for this. i don't know, i'm getting emilio all of a sudden. what happened? emilio cortez: jimmy's off. so i'm here to take his place. damian: there you go. you're the second stringer. well, emilio, great to have you on the show. we all know your dad, darrell cortez.

tell us about this 49ers edu program. emilio: yeah, so the 49ers edu program is the education component of the 49ers organization. so the program started in 2014 as a way to leverage the game of football through steam education. so we use science, technology, engineering, arts, and math and teach kids around the bay area through our field trip program, so kinder through eighth grade, how all these important subjects relate to the game of football. so we typically serve up to 60,000 participants each school year. damian: and what we're looking at actually, some other community service that the 49ers do. there is one of the greatest players on the 49ers team and what--they're all doing george kittel haircuts for the kids, and just the great stuff, community work, that you're all doing with the san francisco 49ers. but, again, this is related to steam. and how it relates to football, is there a correlation if there's a correlation?

emilio: yeah. so, you know, typically when they would come to our in-person field trip, we take them around the stadium, we give them a stadium tour, we go down and do football drills down by the football field, we take them on a museum tour, and then there's also time to do a class lesson with them. so we're thinking about all these ways that steam is related, you know, not only in our lives, but to the game of football. so we point different things out, and specifically in the playbook that we hand out to every student and educator that come. there's different activities in there. so a good example of this is on one of the pages we have the forces of football flight where students learn about aerodynamics in the game of football. so that's just one of the examples of the different steam subjects that we have. damian: well, show us that playbook. i know last time we did, we kind of lost your color, but let's show it once again. let's--there it is right there. tell us that. emilio: so this is the physical copy of t so it has, you know, the we usually go throughfe withit

throughout the day. and then, you know, the kids and educators, they get to take this home and they can work on it in their free time if they would like. and the cool thing now is that we've actually have a digital version of this available in both english and spanish, which is on our website. damian: yeah, it's funny how that book just kind of loses color but-- your dark--your background is dark now. but, you know, and my son, michael damian, participated in one of these summer steam programs. there is a summer camp there. and, i mean, one thing, you're going to levi stadium, and that's a great experience for all these kids. your reaction, emilio, when you see the look on their faces and the joy that they have, all of a sudden, it's not just learning about football and the 49ers. it's education. it's about steam. edgar: yeah, i mean, it's a great feeling, especially knowing that you're giving back in a positive way to the community and being that this is one of the few free field trips that are out there for educators. and, you know, a lot of--for a lot of these schools,

we offer free busing as well. so, you know, a lot of the kids say that that was their favorite part, being, you know, transported on these nice, on these nice charter buses to the field trip. and for a lot of these students too, it's their first time ever, you know, experiencing something like this outside of their own city or outside of their small town, depending where they come from in the bay area. so just be able to see their smiling faces, you know, in the morning as they arrive and seeing the stadium and being able to go into different places that typically the public wouldn't be able to have access to it's just a really good feeling at the end of the day as they thank us and wave goodbye as they head back home. damian: and you would think or people might think, "well, the 49ers, they are about the x's and o's about crossing patterns and about deep routes." but lo and behold, there is this community education component the 49ers have brought into the 49ers family. you know, i'm sure every sports organization professional does

this to a certain extent, but being that we're in silicon valley, i guess steam is right up our alley. emilio: yeah, definitely. i mean, steam plays a huge role out here, especially in silicon valley. and, you know, thank you to the ownership of the team. they've always had a big importance on education and giving back to the community. and being a global entity, it's always important to them to continue to inspire and support the fans in any way they can and just to be able to continue showing them the importance of education in their lives. damian: and what made you decide to go into the educational side of the 49ers and not necessarily throwing passes to george kittel? emilio: yeah. well, i mean, i mean, i think i'm too tall, but not enough muscle on me, but i've just always enjoyed being able to give back to my community in a positive way. and, you know, being able to be here with the niners i've been able to see--been able to see and love, you know, working for them, being able to give back

to the community, not only through our program, but through the rest of the organization. damian: i mean, that's got to be big because being--maybe being a 49ers fan. and that's one thing. boy, you're working for your favorite football organization. lo and behold now you're doing more than just enjoying the football aspect of it. you're doing the giving aspect of it, the community side of the san francisco 49ers. edgar: yeah, definitely. i mean, there's always a lot of cool opportunities within the organization that they include us into be able to give back, not only through our program, but as well as the rest of the community relations team as well. damian: all right, well, i'm sure they are going to welcome all the buses back because during this pandemic, its been a year since anybody in the public has been able to set foot at levi's stadium except to get the vaccine at the max vacs site. any final thoughts, emilio, before we let you go? emilio: no. well, i mean, if you're interested in finding out more, if you're interested in the digital playbook, you know, feel free to check it out at 49ers.com/edu, and it's

available in both english and spanish. damian: all right, emilio cortez with 49ers edu, thank you so much for being on our show. there's the information, the website that he was referring to. log on to that for more information, and they'll be able to help you out. emilio, thank you so muc on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. it's the lowest prices of the season on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable, dually-adjustable, foot-warming, temperature-balancing proven quality night sleep we've ever made. don't miss our weekend special. save up to $1,000 on sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday.

if there were a button that would help you use less energy, breathe cleaner air, and even take on climate change... would you press it? on "comunidad del valle." you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. on instagram it's @newsdamiantrujillo. also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. now this past week we celebrated the birthday of a good friend of mine, my hermano, hernan hernandez, a vocalist and bassist for los tiger del norte. but in their songs, not only are they winning grammys with those songs, but they send a powerful message with their songs and with this interview that we're about to show you. it aired before here on "comunidad del valle," but in honor of an hernan's birthday, we're going to replay some of that interview back here with los tiger del norte.

so, hernan, feliz cumpleaños, happy birthday here are-- damian: let me get serious on the topic, if i can, [speaking foreign language] you and i were watching the news earlier on nbc bay area and you saw a lot of the immigration issues. how angry does it make you because you're kind of considered a social activist. how angry does it make you when you see the attacks on immigrants? hernan hernandez: seeing all these things that are happening right now, you know, it makes me upset. it makes me--the frustration, you know, it gets bigger every day, you know, because when you see the way these [speaking foreign language] for the dreamers, especially all those young generation. those older--they came here with their parents without being their own decision. you know, that was the parents' decision. and now the way the president is doing these things and the way

he's using his way of thinking or his way of saying that there are things or what he's going to do, you know, he makes me so upset and he makes me--the frustration not only in the mexican community or latino community. i think most of the nationalities that live in the united states, you know, we're all confused and we're all--we don't know what's going to happen. you know, i just hope, you know, that we can--like us, you know, that we'll live here for so many years and we'll have our kids here already. so i think we should make this kind of a union, you know, to make an--and maybe-- and people that really have that pulling of how we get together, you know, to us, and the good way, a specific way,

you know, to do something for the dreamers, you know, that are-- can you imagine if the dream you know, that stuff, i mean, that's a decision that i hope that the president changes his heart. i mean, touch his heart. damian: his heart, right. yeah. do you see a-- about president trump in the future by los tiger del norte. jorge hernandez: probably. damian: probably. right. jorge: probably. yeah, we have to do it in the good way for so many reasons. damian: how tough is it that maybe one of you guys can answer, to take a stand to say that los tigers del norte are going to stand up for immigrants? i mean, it's probably easy for you guys, but you know that you might be criticized by some other people, but where the immigrants are going to be cheering you. how tough of a balance is that? eduardo hernandez: yeah, you're right.

we can be criticized, but you know we have to do it. it's something that we have to stand up for and, you know, fight for our community. fight our people. fight for our--not only, like hernan said, mexicans, but the whole latino people. we have to fight for them. we have to raise our voice to do something about it, you know. damian: you're as american as you are mexican. you perform for the troops. tell us why you decide to go overseas and perform for our service members across. hernan: those--you know, to go sing for the troops i think was the most beautiful experiences, but at the same time to go give them the music, the happiness. so many latinos in the army.

i saw there and i was like, it was my most beautiful experience but at the same time is like make you proud, you know, that you see all these latinos in there defending the country. that's why when you get to see that and then you come back to--back home and you see all these things that are happening here and you relate the problems with them being over there, i mean, it's like saying like if it's not equal, you know, like if it's not fair, there are all these latinos there that we saw over there. and we went to korea, to germany, to italy, to japan. and taking our music give them that happiness.

how they miss their families. how they miss. time they're th. maybe they don't want to come back or maybe--or they're going to come back. you know, they come back with this-- damian: different. hernan: yeah, you know, is so, so important for us, you know, that we can do that, you know. i wish i can go back and do it again, you know because it's not that you go there to get publicity, you know. it's not that. you know, is you go there because you want to give them what they need because they in danger. you know, they don't know if they're going to come back. and i think a lot of our songs--we have songs, you know, like "los hijos de hernandez." you know, that is our song that it talks about this hernandez last name. person that went to fight for united states. and when he come back here and you go back--and you goes to

mexico to visit the family, he--to cross even though he went over there and fight for the country. you know, all these things relate a lot. a lot of people--you know, it happens to a lot of people, you know. it's not too long ago we went to play in tijuana, and saw a lot of people that went and fight for united states. and for some reason, they went to mexico. and they went back. they didn't let them pass. you know, i think it was like a delicate really, but it was something that the war men used to offer in those days. you know, you go fight and they-- damian: you get your citizenship. hernan: yeah, so those kinds of things are the one los tiger del norte--we've seen those kind of thing because--

icic] client 1: this is absolutely amazing. client 2: oh, my god. it's beautiful, right? hey, everyone. george oliphant, here, at my house, where we are getting ready to embark on the biggest paint project this home has seen in its 100-year history. i know, from doing over a hundred rescues that a vibrant new paint job can really enrich one's space and life. oh, my god!