Growing up during the depression as a Creole in Oakland, I was deeply touched by the poverty and injustice I saw around me. Although my parents had little money, they gave my brothers, my sisters and me a great deal of love and security and instilled in us a sense of confidence that we could overcome obstacles and be successful.

Throughout my lifetime I have recognized the importance of reaching out to others with a spirit of fellowship, to see their needs and to do what I could to help. Over forty years ago, out of my limited resources I set up Educal, a small non-profit organization, to assist ex-offenders and minorities in getting an education and stabilizing their lives.

After the sale of Thomas Bros. Maps in 1999, my wife, Joanne and I set up a larger non-profit organization to support young people who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in their educational pursuits. Honoring the lineage of my mother, Louise Barrios Wilson, I named this new organization The Barrios Trust.

My greatest pleasure has been in establishing The Barrios Trust and making a difference in the lives of young people. In making grants our special pleasure has been in having personal contact with young people being assisted. We invited them to attend our Board meetings, to hear from them the benefits they gained from our contributions.

From watching the growing confidence in the high schools students participating in the FACES program at Children’s Hospitals, to the curiosity and openness in the students at Northern Light School, to the self-esteem of the swimmers in the Oakland Community Pools Project, we have taken great pride in being able to play a role in programs that provide opportunities for these young people to develop self-confidence and embark upon positive paths that will impact their futures.

In forming the Board of Trustees for The Barrios Trust I have drawn on family members and friends who identified with my philosophy and whose own lives are enriched by the experience of being in a position to assist young people in fulfilling their potential. I have always believed that, in order to keep what you have, you have to be willing to give it away. I have found that the more I have shared with others, the more abundance and material blessings have come back to me. I believe that those of us to whom much has been given have a responsibility to give back to others who have not had the same good fortune.

My hope is those who have been touched by me, Joanne and The Barrios Trust – my family, friends and the organizations and young people who receive our grants – will be able to appreciate the value of sharing with others out of a sense of love and fellowship and will give back to others when they have a chance to do so.

The Barrios Trust has provided me with the opportunity to extend my values into the future. I take satisfaction in knowing that the love, compassion and concern for others, which I have tried to express during my lifetime, will be continued beyond my lifespan through the good work of The Barrios Trust.

– Warren Wilson, President