PITTSBURGH —
Jesus Torres was just 17 years old when he left his home in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States by himself on a basketball scholarship. At the time, Torres says he wished there were more resources to help him. So, years later, he combined his love of basketball and helping students and created La Promesa Foundation.
“We have been giving scholarships to Hispanic and Latino students in the Pittsburgh region for education. Since 2023, we have given over $96,000 in scholarships,” Torres said. “I remember when I started, I was like, ‘If I raise $1,000, that would be amazing, and I could help one student,’ and the first year, we raised about $15,000.”
That $96,000 is about 50 scholarships in just three years.
“I still can’t believe that little kid from Puerto Rico is doing this type of work,” Torres said.
Helping students with scholarships
The scholarships help a Latino student in the region further their education.
“Paying it forward, I want to make sure that our students here in the Pittsburgh region can get an education and have their dreams fulfilled,” Torres said. “We want to make sure that they stay in our Pittsburgh region — that they are a key contributor to our region.”
Their first event was a celebrity basketball game. Those games have continued every year and have grown into galas and now a celebrity soccer match. All of the money raised goes directly toward scholarships.
While Torres says he could have moved back to Puerto Rico and started his foundation to help the students there, he says: “Puerto Rico is my home, where I grew up, mi casa, and still is. But Pittsburgh, to me at the beginning, was like maybe just a place I will live for a little bit. Now people are like, ‘Would you consider moving somewhere else?’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m not moving.'”
Casa San Jose
On the board of directors of La Promesa is Monica Ruiz, who is also helping the Latino community through a nonprofit in a different way.
“Sister Janice, the founder of Casa San Jose, found the need because the Latino population was growing, and she wanted them to have a place and come and get resources,” said Ruiz.
Since 2013, Casa San Jose has been a resource center that primarily works with immigrants and refugees. But it also has youth programs, continuing education, mental health programs and advocacy work.
“I think that my community deserves better. They deserve a space where we can come together, where we can have classes here,” Ruiz said.
The Latino population in Pittsburgh has grown since Casa San Jose’s inception, so it recently expanded and moved into a new space in the city’s Beechview neighborhood.
“We want not only the Latino population to be able to take advantage of, but our American neighbors as well,” Ruiz said.
Advocacy work continues
Part of Casa San Jose’s important advocacy work has looked a little different this year. At the frontline, Casa San Jose has been at Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests, organized rallies and made itself a key resource for families affected.
“Anything that we can do to make them feel better, to help them feel supported, to get information so we can support their families,” Ruiz said. “When someone asks me, ‘What were you doing in 2026 when these things were going on?’ I wasn’t at home.”
And while they continue that work, other work continues at Casa San Jose’s new Beechview location, helping the Latino population thrive.
“People are like, ‘That’s not fair’ and ‘Why do you get this?’ and ‘Why do you get that?’ and it’s like, well, we all deserve this,” she said.