CommUNITY en Accion empowers leaders and the El Paso community by advancing education, celebrating cultural pride, and fostering economic prosperity.
CommUNITY En Acción (CEA) was created June 11, 2010, by a group of prominent El Paso professionals with the goal of uniting to prioritize issues impacting our community and proactively develop solutions to address these issues. In CommUNITY, the word UNITY was purposefully bolded and capitalized to emphasize that it takes UNITY within our region to address these issues.
CEA was incorporated in 2011 becoming a non-profit membership organization comprised of non-partisan leaders in the fields of business, nonprofits, education, philanthropy, and the arts. All CEA members live and work in the El Paso community.
The Young Achievers Forum
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Building the Pipeline for Career Preparation and Attainment
Education is the foundation of a child’s life. A quality education has amazing potential to lift children out of poverty, develop crucial social skills, and set them up for future success in all aspects of life. This potential is a result of the robust ecosystem a school environment provides which not only includes high quality education, but the incorporation of essential support services that ensure a child's ability to learn is maximized.
With this belief in mind, one of CommUNITY en Accion’s flagship education initiatives, the Young Achievers Forum (YAF), embodies this mission by offering a transformative college and career exploration experience for sixth-grade students. The program is designed to instill the belief that post-secondary education, whether a university degree, community college, or vocational training, is achievable and essential for long-term success.
Sixth grade is a critical year for future success. Research shows that 6th grade is a pivotal time for students to begin exploring career pathways and understand the academic courses that will set them on a trajectory toward success. While students in higher-income households often have access to the necessary guidance and resources to navigate these choices, those from low- to moderate-income families, particularly those in rural communities, public housing, and colonias, face significant barriers. Without early exposure to career options, many students and their families are left to make these critical decisions too late.
Since 2012, the Young Achievers Forum has directly addressed this gap by providing an immersive, college and career exploration program designed to inspire and empower marginalized, and/or middle to low socio-economic middle school students and their parents/guardians by exposing them to post-secondary education and diverse career paths.
The five career pathways are business, healthcare/sciences, STEM, business/finance, education/liberal arts, and vocational trades. A cornerstone of the program is its intentional pairing of 6th graders with university students, offering valuable insights and inspiration. At the same time, parents participate in sessions designed to equip them with the knowledge and tools to actively support their children's academic and career goals.
The program specifically targets sixth-grade students from rural or underserved communities who may not otherwise consider higher education as an option
For the 2026-2027 academic year, CEA again contracted Helix Solutions to provide independent, external evaluation services, to facilitate organizational learning and continuous improvement of YAF program delivery. [RT1.1]Evaluation activities were designed to assess participant reach, experiences, and attitudes related to the goals and mission of YAF. Notable findings from the October 25, 2025, YAF event at New Mexico State University included:
• Attending the Forum represented the first opportunity to visit a college campus for most (60%) of the student participants, suggesting that the program was reaching students and families that may not otherwise have such an opportunity.
• Most student participants rated the overall quality of their YAF experience as “Excellent” (70%) or “Good” (29%).
CommUNITY en Acción hosts the Young Achievers Forum at The University of Texas at El Paso and in 2017, YAF expanded to Southern New Mexico through a partnership with New Mexico State University.
As we scale YAF beyond its original 6th-grade model to a longitudinal program that supports students from middle school through high school, these funds will help strengthen program delivery and infrastructure. Specifically, funding will be used to enhance curriculum development, provide culturally relevant college and career exposure opportunities, and support student and parent engagement sessions—particularly in underserved and rural communities where access to resources is limited.
We are currently working on a 7th and 8th grade Forum. In addition, the funds will help offset transportation barriers for families, invest in program evaluation to measure long-term impact, and build the organizational capacity needed to sustain and grow the program.
Ultimately, this investment will allow us to reach more students, deepen our impact, and ensure that young people in our community are equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and support systems needed to pursue higher education and meaningful career pathways.
The GECU Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity established to maximize philanthropic efforts to benefit education, community programs and charitable giving. If you itemize deductions on your federal tax return, you may be entitled to claim your donation as a charitable deduction. Please consult your tax adviser.