SA2020’s operations ended on March 28, 2024.
Our data, reports, and stories will remain online through September 2024. Read more about our decision to dissolve on our blog.
SA2020 | Using My Passion to Show Love to San Antonio | SA2020
Ramiro Ramirez

Using My Passion to Show Love to San Antonio

I have been involved with the education of young children, ages 3 to 5, for close to 16 years now. Once a classroom teacher, I now serve as a volunteer for a passion that is embedded in my heart: working with young children. Just this school year, I am now helping with babies as young as 3 months to two year old toddlers.

An unfortunate accident may have created an obstacle for me in 2001, but I tell children not to give up, so I took my own belief. Being left paraplegic, I went through three years of therapy, and during that time I returned to working with young children but instead of a teacher, as a volunteer. I started volunteering for Family Service Association in 2009 at The Oaks Head Start located by Jones-Maltsberger and Thousand Oaks. 4 years later I volunteered at Fernandez Elementary Head Start and Brauchle Head Start. Last school year I volunteered at Boone Elementary Head Start. Now I am currently at Lackland Village Early Head Start/ Head Start located by 410 and Marbach.

I have seen past children who are now productive citizens, such as college students, military personnel, and some even have families of their own. Although I am not directly teaching the young children I serve, I hope that my part of the process will make them become better learners, better people as they grow, and most importantly, make a positive impact in their lives.

Ramiro Ramirez

People are amazed that I do not get paid for the help that I do, but to me, I get more out of keeping my mind fresh, interacting with others, and making friends with the children. This school year, I have had the honor of meeting a young child who is in a wheelchair. I hope that showing him that he can do anything will make a positive difference in his life. I may bring a smile to his face, but he brings joy to my heart. I am blessed to be able to volunteer for an organization that helps so many people, regardless of class, race, gender, or life choices.

I love this city, and hope that children I serve today will become the future leaders of it in the future. And, I can’t forget: GO SPURS GO!

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Friends,

After 12 years of driving progress toward a shared community vision, SA2020, the nonprofit organization, is dissolving. We believe this is the most visionary thing we can do. We made this decision with the greatest care for our organizational values of leadership, community, and accountability, and we hope you’ll read more about it on our blog.

Our website is live with our final data release, showing where San Antonio stands on reaching the shared community vision. The data release is accompanied by our final call to action—a policy agenda for City government based on our unique bird’s-eye view of San Antonio.

While SA2020’s operations ended March 28, these resources, along with the last twelve years of our research and stories, will be available to download from our website through September 2024.

– Team SA2020