The Philanthropy in Action event was held Wednesday, Nov. 19 in the James West Alumni Center from 5-6:30 p.m. The event was hosted within the Alumni Center by the Honors Program as part of an initiative to spark interest in careers within the non-profit sector and philanthropic endeavors. Speakers shared their personal journeys and perspective on philanthropy, public service and community. Students and faculty in attendance had the opportunity to hear three incredibly moving speeches on the impact of philanthropic work and what it means to be a philanthropist.
The event was held in the spacious Collins Conference Room , and it commenced with light appetizers during the first half hour. Refreshments were open to all and facilitated mingling as students introduced themselves to one another and connected through shared interests in careers and studies.
As sights shifted to the main event, host and organizer, Dr. Jennifer Lindholm, assistant dean of undergraduate education and director of the Honors Program, kindly introduced speakers Steve Avalos, Ryan Leung and Andres Snaider. Each one began with impressive bios and stories that intrigued the audience.
The speaker series started with high energy in the crowd as the first speaker was introduced. Avalos took the stage to discuss his journey and work in philanthropy. Avalos is the vice president of Homeboy Industries, a company focused on gang rehabilitation through an 18-month reentry program based in Los Angeles. His journey with philanthropy began as a recipient himself, starting his journey with Homeboy Industries as client after having served a 17-year life sentence in 2012.
Growing up as a generational gang member, he reflected on his journey: “I grew up in my life, what you would call a generational gang. My mother, my father, my parents, my uncles, my cousins, my brothers.”
When he was two years old, his mom married his stepdad, who eventually was arrested for violent crime. “My mom stayed with my stepdad for 36 years. So for me, I grew up down in the state of California, where my father was transferred. My mother and father. So from I believe it was in Folsom, here in Folsom, here in Soledad, even in Monterey County, wherever that would be, I would always follow.”
Further, he shared the remarkably tragic events that led to his time in prison. “We grew up in a community where it’s easier to buy drugs than it is to go get on a football team or a baseball team.” Having watched several of his family members die, including his father, he said, “I became a follower” and mentioned how at a young age he told himself that “maybe this is the way life is for some people.” After a run-in with the law at 17 years old, he was tried as an adult for a gang-related murder and sentenced to prison, which was where he spent the next 17 years of his life.
In the last five years of his sentence, his prison roommate became his stepdad, a transformational pair-up that Avalos said “changed my life.” His stepdad, despite his restrictions in prison, had remained a good person. “He was everything opposite of everything I imagined.” He recounted that he read books on sociology in prison due to his influence.
Avalos asked his stepdad, “What is it that changed your life?” to which he said, “Sister Elizabeth had met him when he was going to death row…for all those years she would always write and never gave up on him.” Someone had counted on him.
Years later, before Avalos had a trial to determine his early release, he met a woman. The woman had remarked that Avalos looked familiar, asking about his stepdad. Gasps came from the audience as it was revealed that Sister Elizabeth, his stepdad’s supporter, had come to his trial, to which she said she would pray for him.
After 17 years, he was finally released to begin a new chapter with Homeboy Industries and Father Boyle, founder of the company. He recounted how “it’s not a job for me…it’s a community of kinship, it’s a place of belonging.”
For him, “It’s been 12 years, and I kid you not it’s been the greatest experience of my life.” For Avalos, Homeboy Industries “has altered my heart.”
Avalos moved the audience with his story, sharing a final note that “you can’t really say, give him a second chance, because you don’t know if he ever got a first.”
His speech evoked a roller coaster of emotions and left a lasting impression on the audience, whose faces reflected a expression of inspiration as he left the podium.
To follow, Leung, a third year economics and public affairs student at UCLA, recounted his own experience and contributions through philanthropy to UCLA.
Dr. Lindholm introduced his countless contributions to the school community and added that she wanted Leung to stay for the full length of his time at UCLA, to which the audience laughed.
Leung first prompted the audience, “So who here considers themselves a philanthropist?” Looking at the few people who raised their hands in response, he affirmed that “everyone in this room is a philanthropist…Philanthropy is for everyone and manifests in many different ways.” For him, philanthropy isn’t just about donating but about giving back since “everyone can be generous.”
Leung recounted his time in high school as a Boys & Girls camp counselor. He said that after prompting the kids to share their favorite books, he had accidentally created a dislike of books among them.
In an attempt to solve this issue, he created the Reading is Blank initiatives, and “you can fill in the blank.” It is a reading literacy program for underserved youth. As a way to address reading literacy during the pandemic, it spoke to the importance of comprehension for children, especially at early ages of their development. It also created several services and support for kids, including a book nook, to spark interest in reading. “A lot of students were falling behind in grade level. So it’s so important because if students don’t get a certain level in their grade, their educational path can change.”
He brought this same courage to UCLA, urging the audience to apply his philanthropic formula. He said, “It starts with an idea, find an issue that you are really passionate about. And next take action.” He delivered this through the Philanthropy Hub Project, an initiative to create a digital hub for philanthropy at UCLA and increase accessibility to philanthropy education.
The initiative was started by a group of 21 public affairs students, meant to connect students to philanthropic initiatives at UCLA. Leung shared some key recommendations from audiences, suggesting: 1. Audiences should go beyond UCLA, 2. The website should include interactive elements appealing to a Gen Z audience, 3. Focus on accessibility, 4. Build community beyond digital engagement through in-person events. The final report is said to be available in the coming weeks to help the launch and development of the Philanthropy Hub Project.
Leung ended on a note of perseverance. “You have the power to lead and make a difference in the world…always have kindness in the back of your heart.”
The conclusion of his heartwarming speech led to the final speaker of the night. Snaider, founder of Nextant, board member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors, and international lawyer with over 30 years in management, recounted his experience at UCLA as a former Bruin in the class of ’88.
His love for UCLA was prevalent throughout his speech. He said he “developed a crush” on UCLA from a young age and loved the bold school colors. He added that “the sports team was really good back then,” to which the crowd roared with laughter.
However, in order to remain at UCLA, throughout his education he was a commuter student simultaneously working in a shipping and delivering warehouse. He said, “I wasn’t the prototypical student at UCLA, I wasn’t involved in extracurriculars. I could attend class but had very little time to do anything else,” like traveling.
The crowd laughed when he said that despite his passion and commitment to education at UCLA, “I was in the friend zone.”
His love for travel followed him beyond his time at UCLA. With his success through Nextant, three times rated Microsoft’s supplier of the year, he had the opportunity to travel to over 40 countries.
But he wanted to give back, and after conducting research that revealed the lack of representation of first-generation students in study abroad programs, like himself, he resolved to do something about it.
With California state funding contributing just 5% of UCLA’s yearly budget of $12 billion, the majority of funding comes through private donors.
Snaider endowed a scholarship to UCLA, later elected to the UCLA foundation with the responsibility of shepherding private donations that come into UCLA from private sources, including his own, and investing those funds in perpetuity. His work is to ensure that underrepresented students have access to programs by making sure that “UCLA is supported financially forever.”
He said his “story is one of missing out and reconnecting with that feeling later in life, and being able to do something about it.”
Each speaker’s contribution left a remarkable touch on each member of the audience that evening. Dr. Lindholm ended the event with a quote on deep kindness from the author Houston Kraft , saying deep kindness is “self-reflection, profound courage, willingness to be humble.”
Philanthropy in Action was a remarkable event that reflected the importance of kindness and its impacts, reminding us that kindness can transform not only individuals but whole communities.
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Featured Image Photographed by Aaron Fu/BruinLife
