BALF History
The Be A Leader Foundation (BALF) has been supporting underprivileged youth for over 18 years through financial assistance, personal mentoring and guidance. Its founders, Gary and Melissa Trujillo, decided that they wanted to have an impact on society by changing the educational aspirations of elementary, high school and college students. Since 1990, they have worked tirelessly with numerous organizations and school districts to help underprivileged students develop needed leadership skills to become focused and college bound. In 2002, the Trujillo’s decided to formalize their energy and efforts and founded the Be A Leader Foundation (BALF). The Foundation is a Phoenix, AZ based, non-profit, 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization.
BALF's mission is to increase the number of college-going students by empowering them to become college bound, focused and prepared through leadership training and mentoring. BALF advocates such core values as integrity first, excellence in all we do, and treating people with dignity and respect. The organization emphasizes building trust and confidence in relationships, developing the self-confidence needed to both lead and follow, and formulating and implementing ethical and value-based decisions. These decisions provide a platform for personal, educational and professional success.
Before formally starting the Be A Leader Foundation in 2002, the founders began working with the South Phoenix Community by creating the Roosevelt Community Technology Center. In 1995, it was determined that families in South Phoenix did not have access to technology, which drastically reduced their opportunity to develop critical skills to enhance their educational opportunities. The founders of BALF along with others raised $1,000,000 to create the Roosevelt Community Technology Center (RCTC). In May 1996, thanks to the generosity of many leading corporations throughout Maricopa County, our dream was realized. That same year, the RCTC opened its doors to provide free access to technology and the internet and is still serving the community today!
To date, our programs have supported students in elementary, high school, college and post-graduate programs. BALF highlights include high school sophomores accumulating college scholarships, juniors participating in a one week east coast Ivy League college tour through the Ivy League Project and countless community service hours. We believe that we are achieving our performance target of creating college bound students and ultimately graduates with degrees. The success of our participants is imbedded in the calendar of events for each of our programs. This “college going” exposure provides a wonderful platform for students and families to gain knowledge and build critical skills, and empowers them to increase their intellectual capacity and become more effective contributors to society through leadership and academic success.
Please click below to download our 2010 Annual Report
BALF_2010 Annual Report.pdf