Passing the Torch

What Ruth and Bill Goldman have created struck a very personal cord with me. As the child of immigrants who worked full time jobs during the day and an additional part time job cleaning an office building at night, it was thanks to the generosity of people like Ruth and Bill that I was able to afford the cost of college and law school. Like Angel, I often accompanied my parents when they went to their night job as office cleaners because they had no one to leave me with. A combination of scholarship support, modest family savings and a good amount of loan debt got me through Florida State University and Georgetown Law School. Each time I received any kind of scholarship support I called my parents and asked if that meant they could cut back on their overtime, or if my mother could finally stop working on Saturdays. As the book notes, the scholarship support Ruth and Bill are providing goes far beyond the direct impact on the student. Its ripple effect touches every member of the family, making the entire unit more resilient.  Ruth and Bill's expectations for these scholars is also worth highlighting. By instilling a sense of duty to give back in these scholars, they are ensuring that this endowment stretches far beyond what the dollars themselves acquire. They are extending the impact into communities across our country where the horizon for young people often does not stretch beyond their block. Deploying scholars into their neighborhoods with a clear mandate to inspire others like them to imagine a limitless horizon, they are doubling down on the power of their philanthropy and putting us all on a path to a more just society. -- Javier Alberto Soto, CEO of the Miami Foundation