For Michael Galvez, the Boys and Girls Club was not just a place to spend summers. It was the place where his future quietly began.
As a child growing up in an underserved neighborhood in San Francisco, Michael was not drawn to sports. Instead, he found himself in the library, the computer room, the art studio, and the woodshop at the Columbia Park Boys and Girls Club. There, he learned to build things with his hands. One project was a metal ring he worked on for months, only to lose it a week after finishing it.
He laughs about it now. But what the Club truly built in him was not a ring. It was determination.
Michael’s family emigrated from Peru. They were uninsured. His grandfather had been a pediatric surgeon in Peru but worked in refrigeration after moving to the United States. Michael understood early that access to healthcare was not equal. He also struggled in high school and took a nontraditional path forward, beginning at community college before transferring to UC Berkeley.
What carried him through was not perfection. It was perseverance, a skill he began developing during those summers at the Club.
After Berkeley came Stanford Medical School. Then 11 years of surgical training, including fellowships in upper extremity surgery and pediatric hand surgery. Today, Dr. Michael Galvez is a pediatric hand surgeon specializing in congenital hand deformities. He works with children from communities much like the one where he grew up.
On his wall hang his undergraduate and medical diplomas. Beside them are certificates he earned at the Boys and Girls Club, reminders of where it all started.
Michael now volunteers at local Boys and Girls Clubs, returning to the same kind of rooms that once shaped him. When he speaks to current Club kids, he tells them the truth. Challenges will come. Opportunity will come too if they stay focused, put in the work, and remain committed to who they want to become.
Life has come full circle. The child who once needed access and encouragement now provides care to underserved children, many of them Latino, just like the community where he was raised.
Stories like Michael’s do not happen by accident. They happen when young people are given access, encouragement, and someone who believes in them before they believe in themselves.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America create environments where kids who may not see a clear path forward discover one. A child who does not gravitate toward sports can find confidence in art, reading, building, and learning. Resilience is practiced long before it is tested.
Through the CAVU Impact Pledge, we dedicate 10% of gross revenues from the CAVU Money Market Fund Share Classes and the Capital Markets DCM business to our Impact Partners. That commitment supports organizations that do more than run programs. They change trajectories.
Michael’s life is proof of what happens when early investment meets unwavering determination. The ripple effect extends far beyond one child. Today, he heals children’s hands and helps shape their futures.
To our clients, your partnership fuels this impact. When you choose to work with CAVU Securities, you are helping fund environments where confidence is built, resilience is strengthened, and futures are shaped.
Together, we are investing in more than markets.
We are investing in people.
To learn more about the CAVU Impact Pledge and the nonprofits we support, visit www.cavusecurities.com or reach out directly.
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