Introducing the Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation
Abel Covarrubias and family, along with the Aprendamos Family of Services shareholders and team, are proud to announce the creation of the Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation. Founded in 2023, the foundation’s goal is to act as a vehicle to ensure youth in our community thrive and have equitable access to opportunities to support their education, development, and success. With a mission to provide children with experiences that value and celebrate them as individuals and honor and foster their gifts and talents, the foundation team is eager to partner with individuals, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, and businesses. Through community partnerships, the foundation aims to build collaborative opportunities and learning communities for children in Southern New Mexico.
Rooted in legacy, the Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation is an extension of the philanthropic efforts started by the family’s patriarch, Mr. Jose Covarrubias. Born in Mexico, Jose immigrated to the United States in 1960 through the Bracero program. After a 920-mile journey, he settled in Arrey, NM and began working as a farm laborer. Although he had many offers to leave the Rio Grande Valley to live what others felt was a more promising opportunity in California, Jose remained faithful to his boss and the land along the valley. His wife, Antonia, and three children, joined him and immigrated to the U.S. in 1965. After 10 years, Jose had an honest and open conversation with his boss, sharing his dreams of one day owning his own parcel of land. With his boss’s blessing, Jose purchased his family’s first parcel of land in 1972 and his second parcel in 1973, which he named “El Ranchito.” As the Covarrubias’ chile farming business grew, so did their family, with a total of nine children calling the Arrey Valley home.
Growing up, Abel remembers his parents always looking for ways to give back to his friends, neighbors, and community. He and his siblings have clear memories of playing along the canal levies and running into the kitchen to tell their mother that they encountered young men asking for something to eat and drink. Knowing that these men made the same journey into the U.S. their family did in search of hope and opportunity, Antonia would pack bags of burritos made with homemade tortillas and drinks for the children to offer the travelers. Regularly, Jose could be found playing cards with the farm laborers and sharing dinner with them at the farmhouse. The generosity Jose and Antonia displayed shaped their family’s views and after Jose died in 2013, his family vowed to continue to make an impact in his honor.
With this legacy as a guide, the Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation is committed to investing in opportunities that will plant seeds for future generations. The Foundation’s leadership team aims to lead from the heart, have an impact within the state of New Mexico, share knowledge with our community, and celebrate the agricultural and immigrant workers who are the backbone of our region.
“We believe in investing in our youth, and the foundation will give us a way to organize and direct investments that will not only make a difference in the long-term, but also have an immediate impact in the lives of children,” said foundation President, Abel Covarrubias. “We have heard stories detailing how children in the South Valley lacked the financial resources to do something as simple as participating in a baseball tournament. The foundation can be a resource for these kids so they can have the same opportunities as their peers.”
The Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation will act as the philanthropic arm to the Aprendamos Family of Services organization. Grant and sponsorship opportunities will be available on a quarterly basis to nonprofit organizations, youth sports leagues, and other organizations with an emphasis on serving youth in our communities. Covarrubias family and Aprendamos Family of Services scholarship funds will continue to be housed and administered by our partners at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, the New Mexico State University Foundation, and Doña Ana Community College.
For more information on the Covarrubias-Aprendamos Foundation, click here to visit the Foundation’s website, email info@covarrubiasaitfoundation.org, or call (575) 526-6682 x 121.
