Hi everyone! As some of you may know, I volunteer on the weekends with Minds Matter SoCal. Minds Matter is a really wonderful nonprofit organization that I hold close to my heart - they provide students from low income households the guidance, resources, and experiences that they need to successfully achieve their goal of going to college. Growing up on the south side of Chicago in a low income household with undocumented parents, I never thought college was a possibility for me. I started working at the age of 13 as a golf caddie out of need to cover my own school and personal expenses. I was eventually introduced to Minds Matter Chicago by my fellow classmates who were in similar situations like my own. Thanks to the help of Minds Matter and a couple more organizations dedicated to supporting children in our community, many of us were able to go on and attend college on full ride scholarships. I cannot put into words how deeply organizations like this impacted not only my life, but the lives of so many other children across the country. College shouldn't be a barrier - it should be a beginning, creating the foundation for a better future. Yet far too many low-income students lack the resources, information, role models and opportunities to make their dreams of college a reality. Minds Matter Southern California fills this gap - and we want to do it for more students! Our goal is to double the number of students we serve by 2028 and deepen the services we provide. It is an ambitious goal and one we can only reach with your help. You can make opportunity accessible and actionable for more students. My personal fundraising goal is $300 - if you feel inclined to donate, it would be deeply appreciated :) We have two matching opportunities. For Giving Tuesday, if we raise $20,000 on that day, Dec. 2nd it will be matched dollar for dollar by board members. Then when we raise an additional $35,000 before Dec. 31st, it will also be matched dollar for dollar!