Ray Aguilera was sitting next to an elementary school student from Pueblo s Bessemer neighborhood at a Colorado Rockies baseball game when he gave him a few dollars to grab a hot dog from the concession stand.
It was his annual trip to Denver, when he chartered buses and brought dozens of students to a game as a reward for learning vocabulary, oftentimes exposing them to the delight of Coors Field and the state’s capital city for the first time: the smell of freshly cut grass, the aroma of stadium food and the tradition of the seventh inning stretch.
Friends say he relished the smiles on those children’s faces more than the game itself.
The foundation hosted a modified version of its annual Bessemer Christmas Extravaganza.
The annual event, started by city councilman and Pueblo Poverty Foundation founder Ray Aguilera, took place as a drive-thru celebration.
For more than two decades, Aguilera has hosted the event to reward the hardworking young scholars of Carlile, Columbian and Minnequa elementary schools.
“It may seem like we just do this,” Aguilera said. “But there is an alternative motive.”
Aguilera has partnered with the three elementary schools to encourage the children to find joy in learning.
The Vocabulary Challenge tasks students with enhancing their lexicon with as many new words as possible over the course of a school year.