The Archangel Foundation — an experiment in micro-philanthropy

by Carol Sowa
Today's Catholic

Rosemary and Roberto Piña, facilitators of an anonymous family’s micro-philanthropy project, the Archangel Foundation, extend a helping hand to alleviate hardship on a one-on-one basis.
Carol Sowa | Today's Catholic

    SAN ANTONIO • In the making of distilled spirits, there is the tradition of the “angel’s share,” that portion which evaporates as part of the natural distilling process.
    One area family has taken this concept to heart in a spiritual experiment in helping meet small but urgent needs in the community.

     Comfortable, but not by any means wealthy, and at the urging of their teen-age children, this local family anonymously founded the nonprofit Archangel Foundation in 2003. They selected as their executive director Roberto Piña, whose 25 years of work in various church ministries has made him knowledgeable in identifying persons who often fall through the cracks in obtaining assistance.
Piña served as the regional director for the Office of Hispanic Affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops for a five-state area, was on the pastoral team of the Mexican American Cultural Center, and is co-founder of the national “Building Bridges Between Blacks and Browns” effort. He and wife Rosemary, who works with him in the Archangel Foundation’s endeavors, have been active in the Worldwide Marriage Encounter’s Hispanic program and hosted the international Hispanic television magazine, Nuestra Familia.

     Together, the Piñas were among the first recipients of the Archbishop Flores Medal, awarded for outstanding service in Hispanic ministry.

    Roberto Piña related that the anonymous family — let’s call them the “Angelos” — began discussing, while on a family vacation, how fortunate their lives had been. “God’s been good to us and blessed us abundantly,” they said. “It’s time that we looked for a way that we could give back to the community.”

    The “Angelos” decided that, despite their limited resources, they would commit to seeking and extending a helping hand to alleviate hardship locally on a one-on-one basis. “You always think of philanthropists as having the millions to give,” said Roberto, noting that what this family has attempted is an experiment in micro-philanthropy. “We might not have millions,” said the “Angelos,” “but we might have hundreds that we can put aside and help somebody out.”

    And it was this modest amount, like the “angel’s share” in wine-making, they decided to dedicate to sharing with those in need. It followed then that the name they chose for their project was the Archangel Foundation, stemming from a family tradition involving these heavenly messengers of God.
    Since its founding, the needs met by the foundation have been seemingly small, but all urgent in nature to the persons involved. All assistance is given on a one-time basis.

    Their first project was a little playground at St. Timothy’s day care center. “They had been put on probation because their playground was not up to speed,” noted Rosemary Piña. Cake and tamale sales had fallen $500 short of the needed funds and the Archangel Foundation was happily able to supply that amount, with the Piñas pitching in to do some of the physical labor themselves.

    Their next project came through the West Urban Deanery, where a number of families could not afford school uniforms for their children. The Piñas were given the names and sizes for 17 children and set about shopping for the needed shirts, pants, underwear and socks, presenting them in special gift bags.

    They were also able to provide some needed school supplies and even shoes for several of the children. Doing the shopping for the parents was also a gift to them, noted Rosemary, as the parents sometimes lack transportation or have small children to look after.

    Another Archangel project has been providing textbooks for several dedicated students at Palo Alto College who were sharing or coming to class without the required books because they could not afford them. Providing the needed books cost between $350 and $400 per student.

    Non-denominational in their help, the foundation has provided the funds for a teen program run by a protestant church on the West side, enabling the group to pay for cabins at the H-E-B Camp for a teen retreat. Another time, when a family’s home burned down, they were able to order a special bed for one of the family members whose size necessitated a custom-made one.

    One Thanksgiving they provided 60 of the neediest families in Cassiano Homes with turkeys, and they have also paid for the funeral of a young husband and father whose struggling family could not afford it, had the air-conditioning repaired in a van used by nuns for transporting the elderly, and purchased new tires and brake jobs for others who needed them.

    A single mother helping her 26-year-old son raise his two children, found her utilities about to be cut off for nonpayment after her son was diagnosed with a medical condition requiring her to miss work to drive him to the hospital several times a week for treatment. The Archangel Foundation stepped in with the $500 to get her utilities reinstated.

    The list of the Archangel Foundation’s good deeds goes on and on. When they read of a trailer park whose owner’s negligence was responsible for the residents’ utilities being turned off at Easter time, they brought the families bottled water and Easter baskets, as well $250 in H-E-B gift cards provided by then-Archbishop Patrick Flores. The families pooled their gift cards to hold a community Easter barbecue. “They could have just kept it to themselves,” said Rosemary, “but they decided as a community they were going to have something to bring them together. And that’s when you say, ‘They got it,’” she said.

    In the letter that accompanies each gift from the foundation, the recipient is asked to follow the “pay it forward” concept. “And it doesn’t have to be with money,” she said. “Just to be aware of somebody else’s needs, just to give a helping hand whenever you can.”

    Each of these letters from the Archangel Foundation contains a white feather — an “angel’s” feather, as well as a little pocket angel medallion. In presenting gifts from the foundation, the Piñas are careful, they note, to treat those on the receiving end with as much dignity as possible.

    “One of the things that we both have learned,” said Roberto, “is that being on the giving side is a lot more difficult than you’d think.” There is a budget to stay within and they cannot assist with all the projects that come before them, leading to many sleepless nights.

    The foundation, which is in the process of receiving its 501(c)(3) nonprofit certification, is self-sustaining and does not ask for donations. In fact, when asked by a friend if he could contribute to their project, the “Angelos” suggested he start his own micro-philanthropy foundation. “It’s a fantastic opportunity,” said Roberto, “for people to grow and embrace the community and understand that there are so many needs out there.”