Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob Isquierdo Jr.

Hi Rob, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

My journey into the world of nonprofit work began as a spiritual journey. As I started reconnecting to God I started praying about what direction he wanted my life to go. When I prayed about this the only word that came to mind was serve. So I began to explore different ways to serve my community consciously. I was raised in a small rural, unincorporated community called London, California, located in the California Central Valley. This eventually LED to me moving back home from Santa Clarita California to the Central Valley so that I could start working on serving my hometown community. as an educator I recognize the value of literacy and decided the best way I could serve my community was by bringing a library to my hometown. After several years of collaborations, networking, and prayer the London Library became a reality. it was then that I realized the true power of Nonprofit work and how it could positively affect a community. after the completion of the library I began to focus on the small unincorporated community that I was living in after moving back from Los Angeles which was Stratford California. I partnered with a long time Stratford resident and we began a non-profit called reestablishing Stratford. this organization was originally designed to bring a sports complex, Community center, or Recreation Center for the Youth of Stratford. eventually it evolved into becoming an organization design to serve all residents in Stratford through a series of positive community events and by bringing outside resources to the community that would benefit our residents.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

One of the struggles that comes with embarking on the creation and execution of a non-profit organization in a small community is earning the trust of not only the residents but the other existing leaders who are also serving these communities. Not all nonprofits have genuine good intentions, so there is a filtering process that must happen before you can earn the community’s trust. Unfortunately, many people assist communities with a hidden agenda. this builds mistrust and must be overcome early in a nonprofit’s existence. We felt the pushback initially coming into Stratford because of the past other nonprofits had started projects that were not completed this affected the psyche of the community when it came to embracing another nonprofit claiming to want to do the same. it has been a 10-year process to earn the trust of our community but we are now in a really good place.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

Our organization is most proud of the longevity that we have established in the non-profit industry within our community of Stratford. One of the things that we didn’t want to do was be another non-profit that would come and go without fulfilling our goals and meeting the needs of our residents. We are now celebrating our 10th year in existence which I think has set us apart from many other organizations that have tried to assist our community but then have disappeared after a short stint.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?

In regards to networking and collaborating with other organizations I feel like our consistent activity on social media has connected us to many valuable partners. we have also regularly attended local networking opportunities through the Chamber of Commerce, Civic clubs, and other non-profit organizations. this has led to many long-term Partnerships that have helped us tremendously and trying to accomplish our goal of serving our residents through access to resources and services they may need.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://reestablishstratford.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reestablishingstratford
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReestablishingStratford