Ronaldo Colmenero loves to lend a hand.
He tutors his fellow students in math when they need someone with patience to walk them through a complicated equation.
He spends his free time volunteering at Mission Arlington assisting people through their time of need.
Welcome to 52 Faces
52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
He even volunteers around his school.
Colmenero, a graduating senior at Arlington ISD’s Sam Houston High School, plans to keep giving back as he starts his studies at the University of Texas at Arlington in the fall. His work led to his nomination for 52 Faces of Community, the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series spotlighting unsung heroes in Tarrant County.
“I feel like I’m doing something with my time. Knowing that it impacts other people, it’s made me feel accomplished,” Colmenero, 18, said.
He initially started volunteering to meet a class requirement. All he needed was 24 hours of service time.
He exceeded that minimum because he felt a call to help his community.
‘Switch up and adapt’
Colmenero started volunteering at Mission Arlington during his sophomore year.
His brother told him that he’d clean and organize clothes for the faith-based organization, which provides emergency assistance, food and health care services to residents in Arlington and surrounding areas.
Once he started helping, the pace picked up. Colmenero switched roles. From unboxing items to cutting boxes to moving furniture and back.
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“It caught me off guard, but it definitely prepared me for when things start to switch up and adapt to different environments,” he said.
One day, a couple of people stopped by Mission Arlington. They only spoke Spanish. Colmenero stepped up to help translate. He did not expect to use his Spanish-speaking skills.
“But I really enjoyed it,” Colmenero said, adding it also improved his Spanish.
Students are crucial to Mission Arlington’s success, the charity’s spokesperson Jim Burgin said. They lift the load — literally — and bring a positive energy that makes a difference among volunteers and the people the nonprofit serves.
“One of the biggest blessings we have here is working with students from schools across our community, and Ronaldo is no exception,” Burgin said.
Colmenero has donated nearly 61 hours of time to Mission Arlington, Burgin said.
“All on his own time, simply to help other people to have what they need to get by,” he said.
“Ronaldo has made an impression here. That he would stand out among the large number of beautiful people who volunteer with us is notable.”
Jim Burgin of Mission Arlington
Staff at Mission Arlington love to see Colmenero coming, Burgin said. They described him as sweet and helpful, good with donors and proactive.
“Ronaldo has made an impression here. That he would stand out among the large number of beautiful people who volunteer with us is notable,” Burgin said. “My own impression of this young man is that he has a maturity which is beyond his years, and a gentle spirit which impacts and underlies all he does.”
‘Never know what people are experiencing’
Colmenero hates orange Gatorade.
A sip of the sports drink brings back a rush of memories.
Boredom.
The smell of the room.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Surviving leukemia.
Colmenero reflected on his experience as a 7-year-old going through cancer treatment in an essay when he was a junior.
As a boy, he wrote, all he wanted to do was go home and play, but there he was stuck in a hospital with a playroom — and he did not want to play with the toys.
“I should have appreciated that moment,” he said. “It makes me appreciate the moments when I volunteer. I never know what anybody is going through. I never know what people are experiencing. Just be kind and help out.”
Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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