Two communication officers for school districts in Chula Vista want to give back to the neighborhoods in which they grew up in by helping start the San Ysidro Foundation.
The San Ysidro Foundation, a new affiliate of the San Diego Foundation, strives to make a difference for the community in the San Ysidro area through philanthropy and grant funding.
“Giving back to the community is basically what we’re all about,” said board member Anthony Millican, who is also the director of communications for the Chula Vista Elementary School District.
Recently the foundation named Sweetwater Union High School District spokesman Manny Rubio as its founding chairman.
Rubio, a graduate of Montgomery High School, was raised and still lives in San Ysidro.
Rubio said his vision for the foundation is for it to be the voice of the community.
“We hope that the San Ysidro Foundation at some point will be essentially the go-to in terms of what the community’s needs are,” he said.
Rubio also said he wants to integrate the communities of Nestor, Otay Mesa and South San Diego into the foundation.
This isn’t the first time Millican and Rubio will give back to their communities.
Millican currently serves his community by trying to make a difference in the lives of children as a youth soccer coach. Through soccer, Millican said, he hopes kids can have something to focus on.
Millican said he remembers receiving a helping hand when he needed it.
“I remember growing up, the adults that made a difference in my life,” he said. “Whether it was a teacher, whether it was a coach, whether it was a neighbor down the street, people had encouraging words to help me make it. And I never forgot that.”
Rubio, 40, said at a young age his parents instilled in him the importance of community service.
He remembers as a child seeing his bilingual speaking grandmother help her neighbors who didn’t speak English with their rent papers, getting money orders and assisting them with their taxes.
Rubio said he first learned about the beginnings of the San Ysidro Foundation when he wanted to join the Chula Vista Foundation.
“I was really interested in the San Ysidro Foundation because that’s really where I live and really where my personal passion is,” he said.
Rubio said funding and grants come from board members who donate their own money to be members of the foundation.
The foundation will also seek corporate sponsors.
