Northgate is my home. It has always been my home and it will always be my home no matter where I end up. I’m Daniel Pikovskiy and I have lived in the Northgate community for my whole life. As an active member of the community, I have been involved in everything from youth sports to local charities. From the earliest chapters of my academic journey at Valle Verde Elementary, through the formative years spent at Foothill Middle School, and culminating at Northgate High School, I have been shaped and molded by the guidance of wonderful teachers and role models around me. Now, as I enter into my second year of college at the University of California, Los Angeles, I reflect back on the impact that my community has had on me and how I can strive to reciprocate that impact. In pursuit of that endeavor, I’ve worked to pinpoint specific areas that I believe are most in need of new ideas and initiatives. For me, one of those areas is the economic disparity among population in the United States.
The stark and ever-growing gap between the wealthy and lower-class in the US has always bothered me, driving me to take action. I first recall noticing this problem within our society during my time volunteering at the Monument Crisis Center in Concord. I was just a freshman in high school, but I noticed how the elementary school students that I was mentoring did not have the same school supplies and materials that I was fortunate to have. I couldn’t help but notice that when it came time for pick-up, parents would show up late, looking tired and stressed. I realized the constant financial burden that these people were forced to withstand and decided that I wanted to get involved in helping out.
To learn more about this issue, I joined the Infinite Finance Club at UCLA, where we focus on teaching financial literacy to underprivileged high school students. Witnessing the positive impact we make on these young lives fuels my desire to continue working toward closing the wealth gap in America.
I first came across Capitalists for Shared Income1 (C4SI) back in May, when I was searching for a local non-profit with which to get involved. I was astonished by the similarities between the goals I had been working so hard to accomplish and C4SI’s mission. C4SI not only puts cash in the hands of those living in poverty, but aims to build a sovereign wealth fund for and from Capitalism, invested for the benefit of those left behind. It accepts donations both for the investment pool and immediate purchase of debit cards and distributes its debit cards through other 501(c)(3) public charities working with people living in poverty. C4SI distributes cards through Trinity Center here in Walnut Creek, and four other charities across the country.
I instantly knew that I wanted to get involved, so I reached out to C4SI’s visionary founder, Mr. Bram Zeigler. Bram and I discussed several ways in which I could assist C4SI, including soliciting local businesses to become C4SI Business Partners. In a matter of weeks, I was already at work striving to build a network of business partners by reaching out to local small businesses.
Going from storefront to storefront, pitching C4SI and our mission to complete strangers was no walk in the park, to say the least. Obviously, this endeavor led me to more rejections than I could count, but each one taught me a different lesson and helped me with my next pitch. With each business I approached, I felt more comfortable and confident presenting C4SI’s mission. This experience not only taught me how to learn from rejection, but it showed me the way in which businesses operate and work alongside one another.
I have learned many lessons this summer working with Bram, and C4SI has empowered me with the belief that I can make a tangible difference in my community. With its cash supplements to those in poverty, C4SI has already made a significant impact in the East Bay Area. As the organization expands its reach nationwide, I am filled with excitement and anticipation for what the future holds.
1 For more information about C4SI, visit their website (https://www.capitalists4si. org/) and follow them on social media.
By Daniel Pikovskiy, Resident since 2004