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Finding My Purpose

October 14, 2020 By Melinda Olivas 1 Comment

Finding My Purpose and What it Means to Me

By: Jacob DiCello

Has anyone ever asked you what your purpose in life is? Perhaps, like many of you, being caught off guard with a question like that made me freeze up. I did not have a good answer. As a matter of fact, I did not have an answer at all. For those of you that know me, you are well aware that it is rare for me to have no answer at all. This question hit me like a ton of bricks in a meeting amongst my peers when Rosy flat out asked me, “What is your purpose in life?”

As this uneasy, timid, mind-boggling feeling came over me, I thought to myself, how dare she put me on the spot like this?! I felt distressed as my mind raced. I fretted over silly things like, what the heck is my purpose in life? Do I even have a purpose in life? What if I discover my purpose in life, and it’s lame? When I do realize my purpose in life, then what’s next? Will my life be over or possibly worse; am I going to be forced out of my “ignorance-is-bliss” comfort zone? [If you are freaking out as I did, it’s ok; inhale quietly through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds and repeat. Once that is done, please keep reading.] 

What happens next?

Since that time, I have attended an 8-hour class on finding my purpose in life, but I have been fortunate enough to be invited to assist Sara in teaching the course and have spent many hours pondering and researching my purpose. Now I have been asked to write an article about finding one’s purpose in life and what it means to me. I have recently been working on finding my purpose and helping others find their purpose. By encouraging others to support their peers in finding their purpose, I have realized that finding one’s purpose in life is not scary, difficult, or mind crippling. It does not cause uneasiness or timidness. Finding my purpose in life has three special meanings to me. 

First of all, it means living my best life by identifying my special gift(s) and stopping at nothing to share it/them with the world. Secondly, it means connecting with others by recognizing and drawing out the gifts that they possess and appreciating and applauding them for sharing those gifts with me. Tertiarily, it’s simply a fun, neat, diverse, ever-evolving, mind-opening, feel-good adventure.  

We should be proud to work for an organization that cares enough about its family to use its resources to seek each associated person’s purpose in life. How awesome is that!? Tobosa is not solely asking as a fleeting fancy, but instead demanding that we all give 110 percent effort in this endeavor, not only for ourselves but also for those around us. Before you are put on the spot, I encourage everyone to ask yourself, “What is my purpose in life?” (If you are associated with Tobosa, prepare yourself, I guarantee this question is in your near future).

Do not be alarmed if you can not answer right away.

Ponder it; ask those around you. You may be quite surprised at what they see. Sometimes we do things blindly and project them without even realizing it ourselves, and it takes another person to recognize those gifts you have to offer. Now enough with the small talk people, vamonos, I have a gift to share, and so do you!  

Join Our Team, Find Your Purpose!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: developmental disabilities, life purpose, mission, passion, tobosa

What Once Was Will Be Again

June 19, 2020 By Melinda Olivas 2 Comments

What Once Was Will Be Again

By: Melinda Olivas

Another blog about COVID-19 and its effects, you ask? Well, it does play a significant role in the lives of people around the world. Here we go; I’m going to take you back to the time of Tobosa’s final gatherings before the quarantine, and social restrictions were put into place.

Let’s start in February, the month of love. Our CEO, Rosy, had recently watched the film “The Peanut Butter Falcon.”

Without giving too much away, the movie is a modern Mark Twain adventure, where a young man, Zak, with Down syndrome runs away from an assisted living facility. He meets a wayward fisherman (also on the run), and the two share a memorable journey to achieve Zak’s dream of becoming a professional wrestler. If you haven’t watched it, I recommend you add it to your list! This movie will have you laughing while pulling at your heartstrings.

Inspired by the storyline and how it went hand-in-hand with our mission, Rosy wanted to invigorate the workforce of our organization; we decided to have a movie screening! We set up our Training Center as a theater, and people brought snacks to munch on, it was a success even with the few stragglers that came in after the show started (haha). The screening took place on the morning of Valentine’s Day; of course, we couldn’t let the day end without a party. That’s not how we roll! Everyone was to meet at the Roswell Adult Center for a Valentine Celebration with food and dancing. It had been a minute since we got our boogie on, but all who attended had a blast! People were socializing, filling their bellies, taking photos, and grooving to the beats by DJ GC (aka Andrew Garza). Thinking about it now gives me chills, who knew those moments would be some of the last that our Tobosa family would be able to get together.


Rounding out the month of February, we had two more events; I’ll begin with our 3rd Leap Year Time Capsule. It all started (hold on, let me do some mental calculation) oh yeah, eight years ago with Tobosa’s first burial of a leap year time capsule in 2012. We asked the employees and individuals of Tobosa to bring in items that were personal, sentimental, or just something they thought might be obsolete in the next four years. We’ve been digging up memories and burying the soon-to-be past every leap year that followed. This year’s dig up, however, was quite an experience.

First of all, for some reason, we had a hard time figuring out if we had even buried one during the last leap year. We would go back and forth amongst each other, saying, “yes, I think we did” or “no, no, I’m sure we didn’t.” Once it was determined we did bury one, we had to remember exactly where we hid the little sucker. Luckily we came across some photos (those factored in the conclusion we had buried one) that showed us where we hid the capsule. Finding the hidden treasure was an adventure because our “X” did not mark the spot; after four years, it had disappeared (go figure).

On the day of the unveiling, a few of us went out early to see if we could find the exact place. I don’t want to toot our own horn, but I will, with some Tobosa ingenuity, we found it on our first try. No surprise, we’re awesome like that! We covered it back up enough so no one would notice, but not too much so that it wouldn’t cause another struggle. It’s always amazing to see what comes out of that capsule, but this time there were notable items from some outstanding people we had lost over the past four years. There were tears of joy remembering those sweet souls.

Now we wait, 2024 we’ll see you soon!


During a month, people rejoice love and kindness; there is no better time to host our 2nd Annual Providers Appreciation Luncheon.

Some might be thrown off by the word “providers,” this event is to honor and thank people and businesses in our community who have shown their support to our organization. The event was held again at The Fraternal Order of Eagles, and with more time to plan, the decorations were superb thanks to Veronica! Portofino catered a delectable lunch, and the speakers did an excellent job expressing their appreciation to our guests.

Whether it’s Tobosa’s adult services or our children’s services through Little Steps Learning Center & Los Pasitos Early Intervention, people show up and step up! As a non-profit organization, we don’t always have the leisure to thank our supporters year-round; nonetheless, we will continually make an effort to show our gratitude whenever possible. Overall, it was a lovely event, and we look forward to thanking, entertaining, and recognizing more of our supporters in the future.

2020 Honorees

Zoo Day was the last event put on by Los Pasitos and Little Steps in March. Now, this happened to fall on Friday the 13th; I’ll let you decide if the superstition that this day is unlucky holds any truth. An invitation was open to families, children, and adults who are supported and receive services throughout Tobosa. Plans were set, and everyone was to enjoy personal tours, animal presentations, and pizza! Nobody was sure how many people would be in attendance because this was the Friday before Spring Break and the outset of COVID-19 in our state. There was still a lot of confusion about the virus, and we were in the early stage where people were advised about social distancing.

Not to mention, the few days prior, the weather had been in the upper 70s, but this day we woke up to 60 something degrees, clouds, wind, and rain. This was not the business for an outside event, but we all know how unpredictable NM weather can be.

We stayed optimistic and did not cancel, and as you may have guessed, the turnout was not what we had hoped. Unbeknownst to all the end had come, that would be our final gathering.


Here we are, three months later. We’ve had to cancel our annual events like the EI Easter party, Adopt-A-Highway clean-up, Stepping Out for Children, Summer Bash, and possibly our Tobosa Classic golf tournament. Sure, we were able to Zoom our Overall Staff Meeting and the Friendship Visit with Journey of Hope (The Ability Experience), but it’s not the same. You can see, but you can’t feel the joy and excitement of others that are sharing that specific moment with you. You can’t capture the memories with photos with the people who mean the most to you. Yes, one day, all the orders will be lifted entirely, and people will be allowed to congregate again, but will it be like old times? Will people be hesitant to slap you a congratulatory high-five for air mailing all four bags in a cornhole game? (By the way that is some of the entertainment we have at our Summer Bash) Only time will tell, but I do hope we can all return to normal, whatever that normal was to you pre COVID-19. I know I’m counting down the days not only to get back to the office but also to be able to catch up on some quality time with my Tobosa family & friends!

Until then, be safe, be healthy, be kind!

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: community, COVID-19, little steps, Los Pasitos, memories, social distancing, tobosa, together

Water Their Spirits and Watch Them Grow

May 1, 2019 By Melinda Olivas Leave a Comment

Water Their Spirits and Watch Them Grow

By: Felicia Juarez

When we plant a garden, we are careful to ensure that our garden is given the necessary “ingredients” to thrive.  We make sure seeds are planted in the right place with good soil, have appropriate sunlight, fertilizer, water, etc. and the same should be true for our children.

Children need a safe, nurturing environment that has food, water, education, positive recognition, and encouragement to learn and become successful.  Other “supplements” that may be necessary are special education, therapy, and educational supplies. Most people naturally assume that all those things are automatically provided, but in reality, some or all are missing in a child’s life. Currently, New Mexico ranks 50th in the Nation for Child Poverty and 1st in the Nation for Child Hunger (2019 Center for American Progress). Those rankings translate to our kids not having the clothes, shoes, or even diapers that are essential for everyday life. Sadly, this also means that most kids do not know where or when their next meal will be. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE! New Mexico was ranked as the worst state to be a child according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation based out of Baltimore. This foundation was established in 1948 and is devoted to developing a brighter future for millions of children at risk of poor educational, economic, social and health outcomes.

Planting the Seed

Tobosa’s Children Services Department is taking as many steps as possible to notch away at this problem in our community. Little Steps is not a place where we only watch over children; it is a childcare center where we do exactly that, provide care to children. We take our time and put forth the effort to promote an educational and safe environment for all our “littles” Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Little Steps ensures the children receive five daily meals: breakfast, morning & noon snack, lunch, and late afternoon snack. We do not want our littles to go home hungry, and we know children learn better when their tummies are full and can concentrate on what is being taught instead of those growling stomachs! All snacks that we serve follow Federal Nutritional Guidelines to ensure healthy food intake.

Cooking up some Tasty Treats!

Another area that Little Steps is passionate about is ensuring that our children leave the center having learned something that helps them with everyday routines or accentuates what they have been learning at Head Start, Pre-K or Elementary school. We know that children learn best through experiential play and class lessons that are interactive and fun and that is what we aim to do. Our After School Program makes it a priority to set aside time for children to complete homework and read every day.

Trips to the Library

Little Steps is always exploring different ways to continue to be helpful to the families we support. We are the only center in the Roswell area, that provides pick up services from seven elementary schools as well as pick up AND drop off  (mornings) to both Head Starts. Transportation is a significant challenge among working families, especially for single parents who are the sole provider and lack the flexibility to leave work to pick up their children. Families who are unable to work might not be able to provide for their children adequately, and Little Steps is here to assist in any way possible. 

More About Us

Our center supports between 65-75 children at any given moment. We are continuously striving to increase those numbers and the quality of services provided in ways that will benefit our community. Our kids enjoy participating and volunteering in community events and programs that help to feed the homeless and needy families and bring smiles and friendships to the elderly who reside in nursing homes. We are a non-profit agency doing what we can to keep our community great while we nurture children into healthy, caring, educated, and empowered young girls and boys!

Giving Back
Our Littles delivering Flowers & Smiles!

Little Steps welcomes the community to come by and see what we do firsthand, and we are always grateful for volunteers and donations such as educational items, toys, books, jackets, etc. Please visit littlestepscenter.org or trytobosa.org for more information or to make a monetary contribution to help us continue our mission.

Support Us

If you would like to speak with a Director, please contact Michelle Pruitt (575) 623-6402, mpruitt@lospasitos.org or Felicia Juarez (575) 624-1025, fjuarez@lospasitos.org. Our CEO, Rosy RubioShe welcomes any inquiries you may have. You can reach her at (575) 624-1025, rrubio@trytobosa.org.

Filed Under: Success Story Tagged With: children services, community, early education, learning center, little steps, new mexico, tobosa

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(575) 624-1025
info@trytobosa.org

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204 W 2nd Street, Suite #1
Roswell, NM 88201

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