Reconnecting with His Roots: A Profile on Richard Aleman By: Angela Gaudette, IMPACTO Volunteer Coordinator.

“Everything about IMPACTO is beautiful, from what it stands for, to the dedication that is put into making it work.” –Richard Aleman

Growing up in Boyle Heights, Richard has withstood the reality of living in a tough neighborhood. Today, Richard is employed with Cutiss-Wright as the   facility manager where he has worked for almost 18 years. He received his  Associate’s Degree from East Los Angeles College and Bachelors of Science degree  from California State Los Angeles, while working full time. Richard reconnects with his community by spending his Monday and Wednesday afternoons at IMPACTO.

Simply put, Richard says, “I am now in a position in life where I can lend a bit of my time to talk to kids who walk the path I walked many years ago.” More elaborately, Richard brings the beauty of art to Elementary IMPACTO students’ lives, the hope of a successful future to College Preparatory  IMPACTO students, and as a dedicated volunteer he provides staff support and brings consistency to our youth’s lives.

Richard, the Art Club organizer, expresses, “My very favorite part of IMPACTO is when I walk in; that minute I start hearing the kids call my name.  In  Velvet’s [elementary] class I get the rock star treatment.  The girls run to hug me and greet me.  The boys, well, they’re tough so they just give me our buddy hand shake and props.”

As a former resident of Boyle Heights, staff asked Richard to be a guest speaker for our College Prep youth. He accepted immediately and began an insightful and honest conversation with the students. Richard can relate with the challenges that our youth face. Youth  approach him daily to ask for advice, share their experience and inquire more about his. Richard continues to serve as a positive role model and mentor as well as a source of hope and inspiration.

Richard not only volunteers twice a week, he also serves as IMPACTO’s IT man. Memorial Day weekend Richard took home one of the three Elementary student computers to install more programs and update the system. The Tuesday after, he called with what he referred to as “good news and bad news.” The bad news was that he didn’t have very much luck updating the computers. The good news was that he found five computers on craigslist nearly identical to the ones that IMPACTO had, but with more memory and higher capacity. Richard purchased them all!

When asked if there was anything else that he’d like to say, Richard provided a little more insight:

"The Spanish word Impacto means to have an effect in some way. The acronym IMPACTO means to affect in a very positive and special way. [IMPACTO stands for Imaginando Mañana (Imagining Tomorrow) Pico-Aliso Community Team Outreach.] I always tell people to choose a dream or goal, plan and execute. IMPACTO helps kids create a plan and helps them walk the path.   I take a little time out of my schedule to share my plan with others in need of a positive role model. It’s never work at IMPACTO for me; I love to help."

Through it all, Richard still thinks he’s getting the better end of the deal. “I have to admit that I may be a bit selfish in my reasons for being at IMPACTO, and I honestly feel that they help me more than I help them.”

Photos below are images of some of our other fabulous IMPACTO volunteers!

“I enjoy tutoring the young students, I want them to succeed in school, I want them to prosper, and most of all, I want them to be proud of themselves. That’s the reason I  will continue to come.”

– Emmanuel Garibay, IMPACTO Volunteer

"Proyecto Pastoral & IMPACTO in particular are providing guidance that a lot of these kids are not guaranteed to get elsewhere. Keeping this organization running through either time or financial contribution is integral to its success and I can't wait to see what an impact the kids benefiting from this program will be making ten years from now.”

– Raquel Rodriguez, Proyecto & IMPACTO Volunteer

“My most vivid memory was when I was tutoring a student in math, and I showed him math shortcuts. When I saw him in the later days, he was utilizing them, and that made me proud.”
– Emmanuel Garibay, IMPACTO Volunteer