At a reception held at the San Jose Capitol Club, Voler Strategic Advisors’ Chief Strategy Officer, Rolando Bonilla, was awarded the Mil Gracias Award by Prosperity Lab, a San Jose based nonprofit that works to empower and support small businesses.
“I would like to thank Mimi Hernandez and Prosperity Lab for being a critical partner in the creation of the East San Jose COVID Relief,” said Rolando Bonilla, Chief Strategy Officer, Voler Strategic Advisors. “Through our work, we were able to create an economic lifeline that helped keep the lights on and people employed during a time where East San Jose businesses were left to fend for themselves.”
Having just been discharged from the hospital, after an almost deadly experience with COVID, Bonilla invested his own funds as seed and began the East San Jose COVID Relief Fund, as a source of support for countless businesses that were in dire straits fighting to stay alive during the height of the COVID pandemic.
“Having just gotten out of the hospital, it became clear to me that East San Jose was dealing with the literal fight to keep people alive, as COVID was decimating our community, and the fight to keep the community’s economic heartbeat alive,” said Bonilla. “The East San Jose COVID Relief Fund was more than monetary support, it was a glimmer of hope to the countless small businesses desperate for economic support.”
In total, the East San Jose COVID Relief Fund raised over $100,000 and was able to immediately provide small businesses with grants of $3,500-$5,000. As a result of the public relations effort behind the fund, the city of San Jose increased their initiatives with resources to support East San Jose’s neglected business community.