Daisy Garcia-Montoya 

Daisy Garcia-Montoya
Education Reporter 

With Hispanic Heritage Month underway, Kansas City’s Hispanic Development Fund (HDF) is back with its annual Cambio para Cambio (Change for Change) campaign, which serves Kansas City’sHispanic and Latino community.

This campaign, which  roots stem from2017, has operated as a community-led effort — bringing together local businesses, professional organizations and  high school and collegiate students to raise money for the education of Latino scholars. 

Every year, multiple teams are created within HDF’s local business, college and high school divisions to raise money for student scholarships. As a result of its growing impact, partners have raised this amount — doubling the total —  with some universities matching the amount to further increase the total amount of the scholarship.

In the past three years, over 40 teams throughout its three divisions have  participated in this annual competition — which kicks off during Hispanic Heritage Month — starting Sept. 15 and ending Oct. 15. 

Cambio para Cambio is a way for the Latino community to be engaged in philanthropic efforts, as it’s often a demographic that is not sought out and a way to let Latinos into these spaces, HDF’s Community Impact Officer Robert Sagastume said. 

“Cambio is a tool to activate the power of philanthropy within the Latinx community, provide and amplify the work that HDF does,” Sagastume said. “We are a community that is very giving. Cambio is a way to show our community what we can provide and what we can do as we are trying to help students access secondary education.”

Throughout the month, teams participating in this campaign create various initiatives and fundraisers to bring awareness to Cambio para Cambio as well as collaborating with local businesses. Last year, East High School developed a Fall Festival, where the community was invited to attend as well as local businesses to join as vendors to fundraise.

This year, Johnson County Community College’s LUNA (Latinos United Now and Always) — the Latino organization on campus — is collaborating with local Latino coffee shop Ollama through a customized drink called Luna de Miel as well as a LUNA cup to support these fundraising efforts.

Other popular fundraisers include selling paletas (ice popsicles) from Palacana, selling other Latino goodies such as Pan Dulce, candies and even organizing a yoga class for students. 

As Cambio para Cambio continues to grow, HDF is reaching out to its alumni network to provide them with the opportunity to participate in this campaign through a new initiative called  $40 for 40 Years. 

“This will be a way to truly learn where our alumni are and create a platform where they can contribute to the impact that HDF has had for the past 40 years,” Sagastume said. “There’s so many alumni out there that are thriving and it’s so important to engage everybody to learn from them because they have stories that may be very similar to those current students.” 

With various opportunities for the community to get involved, Sagastume said that having Cambio para Cambio take place during Hispanic Heritage Month gives the Latino community in Kansas City the opportunity to uplift, impact the narrative and showcase their culture and values, while reconnecting with their traditions and roots. 

Cambio para Cambio will continue through Oct. 15. For more information on how to get involved or to make a donation, please visit: https://hdfkc.networkforgood.com/.