Building “Core Memories” and Leadership for Foster Youth

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Nate Gonzalez. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

At just 7 years old, Nate Gonzalez looked at the world around him and saw an opportunity to bring joy to children navigating the foster care system. Now 12 years old—and preparing to celebrate his 13th birthday this October—the Texas native has spent nearly half his life building a powerful movement rooted in a beautifully simple philosophy: kids helping kids. The movement has since blossomed into Nate’s Next Kid Up, a thriving nonprofit organization that now serves more than 5,000 children annually. From its roots in the Coastal Bend, the organization has expanded its reach across the Lone Star State, bringing vital resources and unforgettable experiences to youth in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, and the Rio Grande Valley.

As the founder and CEO of the organization, Nate balances life as a student with dedicating 40 to 60 hours each month to volunteering, a commitment that spikes even higher during holiday drives and major events. His hands-on leadership keeps the organization running, from coordinating volunteers and fundraising to planning community service projects and organizing massive donation drives. His efforts have earned him significant recognition, including being named the youngest honoree in the Corpus Christi Under 40 program, as well as the youngest recipient—and the first ever from his region—to receive the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner’s Excellence Award.

Among the organization’s most impactful initiatives is the Foster Road Trip Program, which has helped take more than 700 children in foster care to their first Major League Baseball game or on educational adventures to destinations like zoos and NASA. In a single year, Nate completely removed financial barriers for 100 foster youth by coordinating a massive trip to Houston, managing every detail from transportation and meals to activities and goodie bags. For Nate, these excursions are about more than just a day out; they’re about creating “core memories” and inspiring children to dream bigger about their futures. These travel experiences are paired with large-scale seasonal efforts, including the back-to-school “Stuff the Pack” school supply giveaways, Dream Big Movie Nights, and the Dream Big Christmas toy drives.

Looking ahead, the young leader is expanding his vision of youth empowerment by working to launch the Nate’s Next Kid Up Youth Leadership Academy, an initiative designed to teach young people how to become leaders through community service. His passion for youth advocacy also extends to his role as a spark leader for GivingTuesday, where he encourages kindness, generosity, and volunteerism among his peers. While the state awards and regional accolades speak to the magnitude of his impact, Nate remains anchored to his core mission. For him, the greatest reward will always be seeing a child smile, gain confidence, and realize that no matter where they come from or what challenges they face, their dreams truly matter.

Tell us about your volunteer role and organization.

I have my own nonprofit called Nate’s Next Kid Up. What I do is help children in foster care and kids within the community through different events and programs. Our biggest program is called Nate’s Foster Road Trip, where we take at least 100 children in foster care to their first MLB game. We actually took them to NASA last year, and this year we just took them to the Astros and also the Alamo. Overall, last year we helped over 700 kids.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

When I was 7 years old, during COVID, it was Christmastime, the time of giving. I wanted to contribute to my community because I kept seeing kids in the hospital who couldn’t be with their friends, family, people they love, or even their pets. I told my parents about this, and they said that children in foster care are a great example of that. So I said I wanted to help them. Then we had our first toy drive, and we collected over 200 toys and sports equipment. It just kept progressing from there. Last year we actually got 10,000 toys, and we keep on growing. This is our sixth year doing this, and we’re excited.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
Long term, I just want to put a smile on the faces of children in foster care. I want to be someone they can trust and talk to about any problems, and I just want them to feel like they have someone there. I also want to grow this nonprofit bigger.

We have our Dream Big Center, which is technically a distribution center. It’s a safe place for children in foster care and kids who just want to have fun. We let them pick out a toy that they want and we get to see their smiles. We have already grown out of it, so we want to get our Dream Big Center bigger and spread the word.

Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.

We’re having the MLB Pitch Hit & Run. It’s at Whataburger Field here in Corpus Christi. This is a big game-changer for the nonprofit because we get to help kids within the community by supporting their interests, like baseball and softball, and just letting them have fun.

We also recently helped schools that were shutting down in our community. We actually gave toys to all the children at the school from pre-K to fifth grade. That was about 3,000 kids.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

We always learn through several of our events and programs. We usually learn what is best for the kids, like activities and prizes. We also learn how to bring the right energy around the kids; we technically want the area to be happy and just joyful for them. Every single event that we do teaches us something, and what we have learned throughout the years is that we always want to make an area safe for them while making sure they have fun at the exact same time.

Why is it important for kids in the foster care system to have these experiences?

We want them to have fun and we want them to have their own adventures and their own experiences. That’s why we have our Road Trip, where we take the children in foster care to their first MLB game, or to their first NASA trip or Alamo trip. We always want them to have fun. We provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s all for the kids.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Just seeing them smile at the end of the day, and just knowing that you have helped someone who needed help.

I met this boy who was about 7 years old. He invited me to his birthday party, so we asked the people who were taking care of him, and they said, “Yes, you can join the birthday party.” We got toys to give to all the kids who were going to be at his party. He gave me a hug and started tearing up. That’s why it’s worth helping kids. You can always do better every single day. I choose to do better, and that has gotten me here so far. I want to keep on doing it.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

It’s great to help other people just to show how you express your feelings, but also to show that you care about someone other than yourself. It’s just good to see other people follow their interests and help. Seeing a kid smile is a big dream of mine, and it makes me want to continue my mission. I want other people to continue their mission of helping other kids and pursuing their dream of doing something bigger than themselves.

That’s what we do at Nate’s Next Kid Up. It just started with one dream, and it led to hundreds, even thousands. It takes a village—maybe a whole city—to just make that one spark light up into a blazing fire. We did that in my community, and we have made a big difference in other children’s lives. I’ve seen some children who are just a few years old and they’re already in foster care, and it just made me want to help more.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

I would just say to follow your heart. Follow your heart, and if you like it, then keep on doing it because it can grow. The amount of kids that you can help just grows and grows, and that has been an eye-opener for me and other people. It starts with you wanting to help. Seeing these kids smile really just lightens up my day. Every single time that I see a child in foster care smile, it is heartwarming.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Nate? Find local volunteer opportunities.