WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 23, 2020 23
Ten-year-old Ridgewood activist raises funds
to help classmates pay their graduation dues
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
You’re never too young to become
a politically active community
leader, and 10-year-old Jacob
Altamirano, a Ridgewood resident, is
proof of that.
The P.S. 290Q student stands out as
a caring and informed member of the
community due to his fundraising efforts,
both for his classmates and his
personal development, as well as his
commitment to local politics.
“I like standing up for people’s
rights,” Altamirano said.
Altamirano also likes helping those
around him. One recent example of
his altruism is his goal to raise $8,000
in order to help his fellow classmates
(there’s about 90 of them) pay their
graduation dues by June. The idea
came to him aft er his mother, community
leader and activist Connie
Altamirano, was concerned with the
$85 price tag that comes with the
celebration.
“When she brought up the graduation
dues it hit me, like, how are other
parents and children gonna pay their
graduation due?” Altamirano said.
“They could be living without a mom.
They could be poor. They could be in
our same situation.”
So Altamirano took it upon himself
to start “Pizza with a Purpose” with
the goal of helping everyone in his
class.
“We shouldn’t be excluding other
kids, because it’s unfair,” he said.
Jacob partnered with California
Pizza Kitchen at Atlas Park in September,
and works eight to 10 hours once
a month to collect funds. He usually
acts as a host and helps the staff give
out the kids menu, then asks guests
if they’d like to donate 20 percent of
their check to Ridgewood’s P.S. 290Q.
Oft en times he even off ers raffl es, so
guests could win gift cards that he
receives from other businesses in the
community.
As of Sunday, Jan. 19, Altamirano
has raised $4,000, which means he’s
halfway to meeting his goal.
And his efforts haven’t gone
unnoticed.
“We are so proud of the work Jacob
is doing for his peers and the community,”
P.S. 290Q’s Prinicpal José Luis
Jiménez said. “He is a great example
of what we want our scholars to be,
to give of themselves, their time and
talents to serve others and learn responsibility
and agency.”
Nicole Radosti, his homeroom
teacher, nominated Jacob for the
prestigious Junior National Young
Leaders Conference, which off ers students
from across the nation a chance
to spend a week in Washington, D.C.,
to learn how to be a leader in their
communities.
Radosti said Altamirano is “hardworking”
and has “a tremendous
heart.”
“Jacob is one of our longtime scholars
at P.S. 290Q,” Ms. Radosti said. “He
is an extremely intuitive and compassionate
scholar that easily gets along
with all of his peers and teachers. He
anticipates people’s needs and uses
this high level of empathy to enhance
his literary comprehension and
expression.”
After being nominated for the
award, Altamirano wrote an essay in
order to receive a $250 scholarship for
the JNYL Conference about leadership.
He chose to write about his inspiration:
his big sister Jamie.
“Everyone defi nes leadership diff erently,
but I think a leader should be, a
communicator, have a futuristic vision,
and know how to turn their ideas
into reality,” Altamirano’s essay read.
“When I think of the word leadership
and its meaning, I think of my older
sister Jamie.”
Altamirano said he’s “always looked
up to his sister,” and her way of helping
the “underdog.” For instance, she
raised $5,000 for Nepal aft er the 2015
Gorkha earthquake while she was in
P.S. 290Q. He hopes to follow in his
sister’s footsteps and attend middle
school at I.S. 73 in Maspeth, just like
Jamie.
It’s clear, though, that Jacob and his
sister are following in their mother’s
footsteps, who has taught them the
importance of participating in politics,
both at the local and state level. The
mother-daughter-son trio make sure
to read the newspaper every morning
and set their own legislative priorities
each year.
They oft en collect water bottles in
order to raise enough money to travel
to Albany and personally speak to
lawmakers about “better public
school education” and “homelessness.”
They’ve also met with Councilman
Robert Holden, and Senators Joseph
Addabbo and Michael Gianaris on
numerous occasions.
“Jacob is carrying on his mother’s
tradition of serving his community.
We are all proud of his eff orts to
make Queens stronger by helping his
neighbors and school,” Senate Deputy
Leader Gianaris said.
Connie hopes her son will be a senator,
but isn’t pressuring him to decide
now.
“You know when you don’t know
what you want to be but you’re falling
into it? That’s what I see in him,” Connie
said. “I’m just empowering him to
empower others. This is all because I
expose him to what I do and because
we make decisions as a family.”
Now, Altamirano and his family
are fundraising for his trip to Washington,
D.C., as the total cost of the
experience will be about $4,000. If
you want to help the young leader,
visit their GoFundMe page: “Send
Jacob to DC.”
California Pizza Kitchen’s Assistant General Manager Rose Ciciora and
Jacob Altamirano. Photo: Angélica Acevedo/QNS
Photo courtesy of Connie Altamirano
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