Angie Ibarra Miller founded Levantar, a nonprofit organization, in 2007 to support underresourced immigrant families. Ibarra Miller, the daughter of immigrants herself, experienced firsthand many of the struggles that children from low-income families face. “Growing up and seeing the disparity between those who had more resources than we did, I felt like every child deserves to have equal access and equal benefit from a system that is here for all children, but that wasn’t the case,” she said.
Levantar is located in North Fair Oaks, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood with almost 20,000 people. “[Some families] live—all eight of them—in a one-bedroom apartment. That’s hard,” Ibarra Miller said.
Monday through Friday, kids are picked up from Kipp Excelencia Community Prep and driven to Levantar’s facility, where they are offered food and homework help, and participate in after-school programs including dance, Taekwondo, reading, and art. Levantar also offers night classes for adults in subjects like English, mental health, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. “It’s not like we just take care of kids after school. It’s a part of it, but our approach is very much to be in close proximity with our families, so that they know they have a place,” she said. “We aim to ensure that immigrants feel that they’re supported, that they’re listened to, that they’re seen, and that they’re cared for.”
Starting from a young age, Ibarra Miller knew she wanted to help families like her own. “I grew up feeling that there was an inequity that needed to be repaired,” she said. “As I was involved in my career and getting educated, it became even stronger that that’s what I was supposed to do with my life. It was going to be my life’s work.”
However, Levantar has faced difficulties due to the ongoing gentrification of the North Fair Oaks neighborhood. “We were challenged with finding a place for us to really hang our hat, and we were displaced a couple of years ago,” Ibarra Miller said. “Stanford wanted the corner lot, and they kicked us out of our lot, which was really hard.” Now, after consulting San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy, Levantar moved its operations to a new building in North Fair Oaks.
Volunteers bring the kids from school, engage with them in games, and help them with homework. “[The kids] love when volunteers come and take the time to read or to play a game with them, or to just be a part of their lives,” Ibarra Miller said. “They’re the backbone of what we do.”
For Ibarra Miller, the most fulfilling part of her job is transforming lives and helping others succeed. From watching them come in as little kids, to growing up in the program and now heading to college, Ibarra Miller has known many for most of their lives. “[One girl], who’s going to San Jose State [University], who came in as a little girl, and now is studying and getting her degree and succeeding. I like to think we had a part to play in that,” she said.
