Growing up in East L.A., money was scarce and toys were even scarcer. My parents came from Mexico; mom was a former farm laborer, dad worked the assembly line at GMC in Van Nuys. My dad taught us that there would always be people with more money than us as well as people with a lot less, and it was our responsibility to help those with less. So twice a year he'd make us gather all our unwanted toys and clothes and we'd drive down to the orphanage in Tecate, Mexico, where my siblings and I would donate our small bundles to those who truly needed it more than we did.
Small, simple acts by a poor family to poorer children. But it instilled in us the resolve to make the world a little bit better, one child at a time. Even with our busy lives, my siblings and I have always found the time for social responsibility, as well as public political discourse and activism, as this is the only way to truly have our voices heard and effect change at a higher, broader level.
For me, giving back means remembering there will always be people with more money than me. But they aren't the ones I'm concerned about.
~ From Marina in Los Angeles
Small, simple acts by a poor family to poorer children. But it instilled in us the resolve to make the world a little bit better, one child at a time. Even with our busy lives, my siblings and I have always found the time for social responsibility, as well as public political discourse and activism, as this is the only way to truly have our voices heard and effect change at a higher, broader level.
For me, giving back means remembering there will always be people with more money than me. But they aren't the ones I'm concerned about.
~ From Marina in Los Angeles