Discover the power of 36 dollars and the hard work of students and business leaders
Bill de la Fuente has described himself as a former fieldworker, a one-time party animal, and a successful businessman, but above all, as a community advocate. Today, he is fostering success through the Bill de la Fuente Scholarship Foundation.
“This money comes from the little store down the street, the landscaper, the mechanic,” he tells student scholarship recipients. “They live in the same town as you…all these people in the community, they believe in you.”
The Bill de la Fuente Scholarship Foundation depends mainly on sponsors from small, locally owned Latino businesses. Every year it awards seven $1,000-dollar scholarships to Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students, and three to students in the Migrant Education Program.
Positive Impact
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Bill has lived in North County San Diego for more than 30 years.
In 1999, he brought businesses together in the Latino Merchants Association (CLA), which became very active in the community and local government.
A firm believer in self-reliance, Bill began to organize with the Latino community when he felt anti-immigrant sentiment was rampant. “My take on it was to counteract that by showing something positive that we could do.”
Outraged by an article in the ‘North County Times’ that stated the need for more blood drives “because all the immigrants were taking all the blood…,” he organized huge Latino blood drives, the first of many steps to show how Latinos actually contributed positively in communities, business, and government.
Bill de la Fuente’s Journey
When Bill was young, he worked at a slaughterhouse in Escondido. But he wanted to work in something he loved.
“I was a party animal; I loved to party,” he told us. So, he decided to open a party supply shop in Escondido, running it for 20 years. “It backfired on me,” he laughed. “Instead of going from party to party, I had to go do work.”
Running the business allowed him to connect with the city and schools, where he met a lot of people and started to make an impact on the community.
He was on some 13 committees over the years, usually the only Latino. When others offered him help, he would thank them but tell them he knew Latinos had the ability to make things happen themselves.
As the director of the CLA, Bill went to schools to speak to students, where he learned about the AVID classes for low-income students, mostly Latinos. “I was so impressed with the students,” he said.
One day at a CLA meeting at a local Mexican restaurant, after the bill was paid, there were about 36 dollars left over. Bill said, “that is going to go into a fund, and every time we do a meeting, all that money, 100% of it, is going to go to scholarships.”
When the CLA ended in 2016, Bill was encouraged to continue heading the current scholarship fund.
He also works with the Migrant Education Program. “I used to work in the fields. I had a good taste of that life, so that always stuck with me.”
The scholarships are for students from Escondido, Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside, Fallbrook, and the surrounding areas. “Here is where our students come from, here is where our businesspeople come from. So, let’s focus on our area right here,” he said.
“My father went to the third grade; my mom went to the sixth grade. And that’s the story of a lot of the kids out there,” he added.
Now, he believes educational opportunities are growing, thanks to STEM. “Students have no boundaries anymore,” he said.
Forging Leaders
Bill de la Fuente has already shaped today’s leaders. Involved in Vista High School’s programs 20 years ago, he helped Latino students put together a plan for their future studies.
“Most of their parents were first-generation,” he said, so they weren’t able to help their children with their school projects. Together with the Migrant Education class, his group put together a course.
He said one of the students was the current mayor of Vista, Cipriano Vargas. “I got to Cipriano, and I asked him, what is it that you want to be? He said, I want to be a judge.” Bill had never known a student who wanted to be a judge, and it left a mark on him.
When Vargas graduated as part of the Migrant Education Program, he was chosen for a scholarship. “I asked Migrant Ed, give me someone who’s got some potential and send them over…Cipriano was the one they sent over, and he got the scholarship, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
