Today we look at another organization that helps impact the community. Cuidado Casero Foundation their mission is to engage people and to invest in the educational achievement, leadership development, and engagement of our Hispanic community through providing scholarships to students.
By Sylvia Rodriguez
This organization deals directly with Tarrant County College and more specifically the nursing program. Upon seeing. Cuidado Casero Foundation at several community events and at a gala.
I was able to see first-hand the scholarships that were given to nursing students that helped bridge the gap between the financial need and their educational goals. Without this organization they may not have had enough funds to follow through with a nursing program at Tarrant County College.
This rigorous program has had many applicants and graduates. However, because of Spanish being the second most prominent language in the United States. There is a very much needed push for bilingual nurses. Doricelys Martinez President & Executive Director collaborating directly with the president of Tarrant County College with her board alongside have a few fundraisers throughout to these scholarships.
One of these is a gala,” A Night of Nightingale” Scholarship Awards and Fundraiser Gala held at the TCC – Trinity River Campus. This event directly benefitted the CCF Scholarship Nursing Fund.
There were scholarship recipients there who gave me their testimonies, one that stands out. A young lady, a recent high school graduate was there with her mother. Her mother had a tumultuous life growing up and did not finish school her daughter seeing that pushed herself she graduated from Trimble Tech and decided quickly because of a career day at her high school that she wanted to be a nurse and help others. She knew that she had to work hard and pushed through any diversities that she had already endured as a child of a struggling household. However, she did that she was accepted into the nursing program and not only was she accepted into the nursing program she was also awarded in scholarship through the CCF.
As I continue to speak with her, she let me know that she was one of several people in her core friend group that wanted to come to TCC. However, as life happens a lot of her friends were not able to come because of the factors of the world affecting them. This made her dream of becoming a nurse even more enthusiastic because she was seeing firsthand exactly how she could help her family with the funds that would be coming in and the prestige of graduating from college.
I was impressed with this young lady and although she sat at the table with me full of confidence as she spoke about her life and struggles glimpse of a timid young girl came out.
This dream for her seemed big and she was still taking it all in it all came into fruition with the help of CCF.
Her mother could not stop smiling they went on and ate the meal and in true form as they announced her daughter’s name she stood up, cried in disbelief that her daughter had accomplished so much already. Wiping tears from her eyes, she stood applauding taking pictures being the dotting mother immensely proud to her daughter to be in a group with such distinguished recipients.
As I looked around the room, took pictures, and introduced myself, I noticed there was a lot of movers and shakers there of Tarrant County and Fort Worth. I could not help it but to sit there and smile people with my skin color we are going to graduate from college with a nursing degree.
All because of a dream that Dr. Carmen Santiago Founder had she put her dream into action and now there are so many individuals that have been the recipients of these scholarships. They have moved on and have worked in hospitals in and around Texas and around the country.
There are various organizations that I encounter this one is helping students at Tarrant County College live out their dream. Have influence in their family’s lives and in many times be the first college student in their household, throughout their entire family, and most often many times they are verry first college students throughout their blood line.
I have come away with a deeper understanding and respect for this organization. One that I was not familiar with until about a year ago. I have seen Cuidado Casero Foundation at various locations always with smiling faces and lending a helping hand.
Cuidado Casero Foundation helps bridge the gap for our already strained families and students for that matter, CCF helps are our future nurses, we must help them continue to bridge the gap our lives depend on it.