As someone born and raised in El Paso, I carry with me the spirit of our border community and the values my parents gave me. My mother came to this country from Chile as a student immigrant, and my father was a professor who believed deeply in education and gave us opportunities to travel, experience other cultures, and see the world beyond our own community. Together, they taught me to value education, service, curiosity, and an openness to others.

This El Paso Giving Day, I’m proud to support three organizations that represent different but important parts of my life and the community I love: Hope Border Institute, Loretto Academy, and PBS El Paso.

My years at Loretto Academy, where I was formed by the Sisters of Loretto, instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility to the common good. I learned that service wasn’t simply something we did. It was part of who we were and who we were called to become. I remain grateful for that foundation and for the generations of young women and men Loretto continues to educate and inspire.

Today, as a board member of the Hope Border Institute, I see those values put into action. HOPE accompanies people in crisis, equips the Church to respond to the realities facing immigrant families, and brings the lived experience of our border to the national conversation. Its work is rooted here in our bilingual, binational community, but its impact reaches far beyond El Paso.

I’m also supporting PBS El Paso, a longtime community resource that brings education, culture, entertainment, and meaningful local storytelling into homes across our region. From programs that spark curiosity in children to arts, history, and stories that connect us to El Paso and the wider world, PBS offers something for every generation. I’m proud to support an organization that has been part of our community for so many years.

These three organizations serve El Paso in very different ways, but they share something important: they help build an informed, compassionate, educated and connected community.

On El Paso Giving Day, I invite you to join me. Give to the organization that speaks most deeply to you, or support all three. Every gift, at every level, is an investment in this place we call home.

Together, we can celebrate what makes El Paso extraordinary while helping ensure that the institutions serving our community continue to thrive.

With gratitude and hope, Sofía