Profile: Rudy Salinas, community activist

Have you ever wondered what you could do for the planet? That’s exactly what Rudy Salinas has wondered ever since he was young. Rudy Salinas is someone who has helped many countries and fought for the well-being of others. Among those many countries is Africa, a place where many people suffer from hunger daily. Rudy has not only helped Africa, but also the United States through organizations like the Red Cross.

Rudy has always tried to do something for the world and has always asked himself what he could do to help those in need. Salinas was raised by Catholic parents and was taught to always look after others other than himself. He was also taught this by two of the teachers he had in the past, who encouraged him to do good for others.

Salinas has volunteered on many projects, one of them being the construction of water wells in Africa. Salinas explained that the water wells were placed near schools so that the children attending the schools had clean water to drink. This was thought to help the children’s health and education, which we couldn’t agree with more. Another amazing thing Rudy has done involves the Red Cross. Salinas has donated on various occasions to this organization and has helped motivate other people to do so as well. Salinas has influenced many Latinos here in East Los Angeles to donate blood to these organizations. He continues to support many orphanages.

Rudy Salinas thinks of East Los Angeles as a place that has many things other countries don’t have. Some of those things involve the resources we have here such as food, housing, and money. Salinas has witnessed many horrible events in other countries. He wishes those places would be more like East Los Angeles. He has also volunteered in organizations such as the East L.A. Rotary Club, which help schools provide healthier foods to students in the community. Rudy has also volunteered with helping teachers improve their teachings in both English and Physical Education classes.

We are able to learn so many things from this fantastic man. He has helped us open our eyes to all the issues in many communities across the world. Salinas motivates us to ask young children what they could do for others and to start thinking about many ideas that might help our planet. There are many things that he wishes didn’t exist in the world, poverty being one of those things, which seems to be impossible to stop. Rudy knows he isn’t rich and won’t be able to help everyone in the world, which is why he encourages others to help as well. Always ask yourself: what can I do . . . to help others?