In 2012 my husband Salvador Hernandez was laid off from work and I was a stay at home mom with no income. After joining The Niner Empire of Fresno we were able to volunteer at The Holy Cross Center.
It was there that we met some very wonderful people. They got to know my husband, myself and my kids and always welcomed us with open arms. After learning that my husband wasn’t working they were concerned about how we were going to provide Christmas presents to our kids since money was tight. Unbeknownst to us they had signed up our kids for gifts from Toys for Tots.
It was such an amazing feeling to know that my kids were not going to experience the pain of not having gifts on Christmas. In the months leading to the next years Christmas (2013) I thought it would be a great experience to give back to someone in need just like it was done for my family. So I proposed the idea of a toy drive to the committee. I’ll admit they weren’t to fond of the idea due to a concern of there not being a good turnout or enough participation from members.
But I went out on a limb & contacted Toys for Tots just to get a general idea of what goes into doing a toy drive. That’s when I met Virginia Cardinal… She’s the Coordinator of Toys for Tots Fresno County. She was excited to work with us & her excitement fueled my desire to keep pushing the idea on the committee. I was able to get 1 committee member on board (Raul Madrigal) and even his wife (Stephanie Madrigal). Together we decided on a date, a location, made a flier & posted it on Facebook to see how many members were interested. To our surprise there were lots!
San Jose, CA – The much anticipated 2nd Annual 408 Niner Empire Chapter BBQ was held this past weekend at Lake Cunningham Regional Park. The event was organized by Chapter President Lisa Gutierez who along with her sister Elena showed up at 5am at the park to start setting up. After working year around for different causes in their community, it was time to kick off a new season of celebrating life with the Empire family.
FRESNO, CA. – The Niner Empire Fresno chapter yet again proves how a well organized group can be a real strength in their community. This past weekend Luis Lozano and his group joined forces with the local Raiders fan group, Raiders of the Central Valley group which is run by Art Perez to hold their first annual “Big Fresno Stop The Violence Rally” event. They promoted the anti-violence event saying, “If we can get along, you can get along”.
