MAKING A DIFFERENCE – CATALINO TAPIA
His story inspired his mission. Due to his father’s death, Catalino had to stop going to school as a child in Michoacan, Mexico. He immigrated to the United States at age 20 with $6 in his pocket. He worked hard as a baker and a machine operator and eventually started his own gardening business.
Mr. Tapia and his wife bought a home in Redwood City and raised their two sons, putting the youngest through college. While he attended his son’s graduation from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley, he noticed that only a handful of Latinos were part of the graduating class. It was then that he decided to help other young people make it to college.
With legal help from his son, Catalino established a nonprofit corporation, the Bay Area Gardeners Scholarship Foundation, in 2003. He began to raise money for scholarships by approaching his wealthy clients and fellow gardeners and found tremendous support for his vision of helping young people achieve a college education.
On November 3rd of, 2021, the Board of Directors announced that the Bay Area Gardeners Scholarship Foundation would legally be renamed the Catalino Tapia Scholarship Foundation (CTSF) in honor of its founder.
CTSF is committed to providing scholarships to students facing significant financial barriers to actualize their college goals. The Foundation strives to promote educational attainment for all diverse students in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, California.
The foundation’s goal is to instill in a sense of pride and spirit in its recipients to also give to their communities while they are in pursuit of their post-secondary education.
To date, the foundation has given $700,000 in scholarships to 348 young men and women.
Catalino’s story has traveled worldwide, being featured in media outlets throughout the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and Europe. His story is a reminder that no matter your upbringing or how much money you have, we can each make a difference and have a profound impact on future generations.
His work has received many awards and recognitions. Catalino was recently recognized as one of the UNIVISIONARIOS by the Univision Network. UNIVISIONARIOS honors each year the most influential Hispanics in the United States and how their contributions advance our community and this country.
Entra aquí y ve el video acerca de Catalino Tapia:
https://www.univision.com/especiales/noticias/2022/univisionarios/#/nominados/catalino-tapia
