Creative Kids<\/a> hospital art program. It\u2019s a nationally recognized youth development organization that allows young people to thrive creatively and emotionally. The program offers art classes to children while they are hospitalized. <\/p>\nYolanda said Alex deeply enjoyed the classes.<\/p>\n
“He would say, \u2018When I’m painting free, I’m free. I don’t have to remember if I’m at the hospital, if I have leukemia. I\u2019m just free.\u201d<\/p>\n
During their time at the hospital, the family remembers the generosity and kindness of many volunteers, who overall improved their hospital experience.<\/p>\n
At seven years old, Alex died, but despite his short life, he left a resounding impact. His family remembers him as a wise and meticulous child.<\/p>\n
“Alex was an amazing kid. Everyone who knows Alex or who met Alex at that time fall in love with him. He was a magical kid,\u201d said his mother.<\/p>\n
His brother Adrian was only two years old when Alex died.<\/p>\n
“Every recollection I have of him, he’s smiling. He’s always happy to be there. Even, like, in the stressful hospital, he was always running around. He made me like value that every day is another day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Cisneros decided to take their pain and grief and transform it into something good. The family decided to join Creative Kids as volunteers and give back to a cause close to their hearts.<\/p>\n
Evwery week, the Cisneros help others process fear, experience moments of healing and rebuild confidence.<\/p>\n
The family was recently nominated for the Governor\u2019s Volunteer Awards. Andrea Gates-Ingle, the executive director and co-founder of Creative Kids, met the family over 20 years ago and she nominated them.<\/p>\n
She said it is admirable to see the family continue to help others during times of grief.<\/p>\n
“They could have easily just, you know, gone away and try to grieve on their own. But instead, they decided they wanted to honor Alex’s memory,\u201d Gates-Ingle shared.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the family learned they had been chosen as the recipients!<\/p>\n
Yolanda was at the park when she received a phone call from Gates-Ingle, asking her to check her e-mail for the announcement.<\/p>\n
“I was amazed. So I turned to my husband, and I said, \u2018We got the award.\u2019 He said, \u2018No.\u2019 And I’m like, \u2018Yes.\u2019 So we were just quiet. Just, it was a big surprise. We feel so special. My family, we were like us? because we don’t feel like we are doing something that extraordinary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Cisneros said they will continue to share Alex\u2019s passion for art with others. They hope they can continue to carry Alex\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
“We decided to honor his name,\u201d said Oscar Cisneros, Alex\u2019s father, when asked why he volunteers.<\/p>\n
“We decided to continue. We decided to honor Alex’s memory. So that’s what we’re trying to do,\u201d Yolanda added.<\/p>\n
A room at Creative Kids was also renamed in honor of Alex\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n
Forty-two recipients, including the Cisneros family, will be traveling to the governor\u2019s mansion next week for a special reception at the Texas Governor\u2019s Mansion.<\/p>\n
The Governor\u2019s Volunteer Awards serve as the state\u2019s highest recognition for volunteer service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)\u2014El Pasoans Oscar, Yolanda, and Adrian Cisneros will visit the Texas Governor\u2019s Mansion next week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-264475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}