By Libni Sanjurjo, Communications Officer
In the summer of 2001, exactly two decades ago, the Aponte Family decided to look for a way to perpetuate the philanthropic legacy of Mr. Gonzalo Aponte, a born philanthropist who understood the value of giving to others. Since then, there have been many who have benefited from the philanthropic investment of the Gonzalo Aponte Foundation Fund which already exceeds one million dollars.
For Teresita Batlle, wife of Gonzalo Mario Aponte – son of don Gonzalo –, the philanthropic vehicle they found in the Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico (FCPR) has fostered an unbreakable chain of love in communities across the island because those who receive have, in turn, become givers.
“The students have learned to share what they have during the community service they perform as part of their grant. They have learned to share their own things, just as we share our own. ‘Giving from us’ has become ‘giving from those who receive’,” Teresita maintains.
The Gonzalo Aponte Foundation Fund, established on July 3, 2001, at FCPR, supports education and social causes through scholarships for college students and donations to nonprofit organizations, and since 2001 has awarded $1,290,142.68 in scholarships and donations. The fund has benefited 46 college students and 25 organizations. Most of the students and organizations have had the opportunity to receive financial support on more than one occasion.
The parents' seed...
The origin of family philanthropy dates back to the 1970s when Don Gonzalo, the father, and his wife, Mary Elsa Otero Vassallo, “Don Gonzalo and Mary Elsa wanted to do something; they were born philanthropists,” Teresita recalls.
After the passing of Don Gonzalo, the father, in 1978, his children sold several properties and deposited part of those profits into the Gonzalo Aponte Foundation to carry on her parents’ legacy. Later, Mary Elsa decided to reach out to FCPR to find out how she could make the family’s philanthropic legacy more impactful. That’s when she began discussions with Ethel Ríos de Betancourt, then president of FCPR, and Matilde Urrutia, director of Development, because they needed an organization to facilitate the philanthropic process.
“For us, it was the best way to carry out our philanthropic mission, and we knew that those two knew exactly what needed to be done,” he said. The discussions culminated in the creation of the Gonzalo Aponte Foundation Fund at FCPR.
“When the fund was created, Fundación Comunitaria had—and still has—the structure, scope, and experience to make the family’s wishes a reality: to support scholarship recipients and nonprofit organizations,” he recalls. “Over the years, they have done an unwavering job managing the funds, and that gives us peace of mind,” he notes.
Access to education
Access to education was one of his priorities because “it is fundamental all the time. The power of philanthropy is to transform people, and for there to be social transformation, there must be education.” To achieve this, they sought to support young people with economic needs, who maintained academic progress and performed community service. Among these, Xavier Nieves.
Teresita fondly remembers “the story” Xavier told her, a boy facing significant financial hardship whom she describes as a “genius.” The young man, originally from Luquillo, volunteered in a nursing home, where he often played dominoes with the residents. “One day he decided to take them to La Parquera, in Lajas, and put them on a boat. When they were getting off, one of the elderly men fell in the water. Imagine that!” she recalls, laughing, while highlighting the selfless spirit of him and the rest of the scholarship recipients.
Today, Xavier, 30 years old, resides in Edmonds, Washington State.
In 2014, he obtained a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, for which he was granted a scholarship by the Gonzalo Aponte Foundation. He completed one year of his bachelor's degree in Austria at Graz University of Technology, an experience that she treasured and which was made possible by the scholarship she received.
«The Gonzalo Aponte Foundation Fund scholarship has been more than just supplementary financial aid for my university studies. On many occasions, it allowed me to have a safe place to study and time free from financial worries, enabling me to participate in extracurricular social, cultural, and academic enrichment activities that have helped me reach where I am today.
Xavier Nieves
Former intern at the Gonzalo Aponte Foundation Fund
Xavier completed an Engineering Systems certification at Caltech and earned a Master's degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. He/She/It has worked in Amgen, Boeing, Blue Origin y Eviation Aircraft Ltd., where he currently works.
«I cannot put into words my gratitude for the vote of confidence from the Gonzalo Aponte Family and FCPR. Through this brief account of my life that I am sharing with you, I can only express the monumental role that your selfless contribution to the youth of Puerto Rico has played in my life and that of my family, and assure you that you are similarly impacting many other lives through your immense community work,» added Xavier.
The joy of giving…
For Teresita, the greatest satisfaction of this philanthropic endeavor has been “that, thanks to the support of Fundación Comunitaria, we’ve been able to help improve the quality of life for Puerto Rico. We’ve helped so many students graduate—doctors, engineers…—and supported organizations that we might not otherwise have been able to reach.”
He also highlights that “there is no greater satisfaction than the one felt when you do good. You have to give, you have to give what you have, and that giving multiplies.”
This is the fourth article in the series Philanthropy Stories, regarding the funds established, held, and administered by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, on the occasion of its thirty-fifth anniversary. Check out the other stories on social media using the hashtag ##HistoriasDeFilantropía. .
Main photo: Grant delivery. Center, Gonzalo Mario Aponte with his wife Teresita Battle, and behind both is Antonio Gonzalo Salmeron Aponte, Gonzalo Mario's grandson.