GILROY
– As guests sip local wines and ales, bid on expensive auction
items and dig into an elaborate, multi-course meal this Saturday,
they’ll actually be supporting homeless shelters, rape crisis
counseling, youth orchestras and other charities.
GILROY – As guests sip local wines and ales, bid on expensive auction items and dig into an elaborate, multi-course meal this Saturday, they’ll actually be supporting homeless shelters, rape crisis counseling, youth orchestras and other charities.
The Gilroy Foundation will hold its annual Day in the Country event Saturday evening at CordeValle golf course in San Martin. The $100-a-plate tickets – which have been sold out for a week – go toward the foundation’s annual grants to nonprofit service organizations in the greater Gilroy community.
In April, the foundation divided its interest income of $35,000 between 20 area charities: an average of $1,750 per organization. Every year, the foundation collects the funds it raises into an endowment and distributes the interest to charities. The principle, now totaling nearly $1 million, is like a “community savings account,” according to foundation Executive Director Donna Pray.
“Since 1982, when we gave out our first grants, we’ve given out over $365,000 without ever touching the principle,” Pray said.
The Day in the Country nets about $30,000 every year for the foundation, which usually nets an additional $10,000 from a wine-cooler booth it runs at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. The Garlic Festival portion, however, “just kind of covers our office expenses” and other administrative costs, Pray said.
Pray is unapologetically boastful about the foundation’s community-service role.
“We’re the only community foundation in Gilroy,” she said. “We pretty much cover every need.”
The foundation divides these needs into five groups: health, education, culture, recreation and civic services. Its mission, according to Pray, is to “continue the quality of life here in Gilroy and hopefully help improve it.”
Each foundation applicant must specify which program it is requesting funds for.
“You cannot apply for the same program more than two years in a row,” Pray said.
However, some service organizations are regular foundation partners, using foundation grants to help them with new projects.
St. Joseph’s Family Center is one of these. In April, the foundation gave St. Joseph’s $4,600 toward a new, $120,000 technology-access program, which is expected to provide basic computer skills, English-language skills, literacy and life skills to needy migrant worker families in the area. In the past, foundation grants have helped support St. Joseph’s food assistance and hot meals at Wheeler Manor, a housing facility for low-income senior citizens.
“As we continue to grow and expand our programming, … we feel like we can really rely on (the people of the Gilroy Foundation),” St. Joseph’s Director David Cox said. “We consider them friends and strong supporters. … They’re a logical first choice for us to go to.”
Community Solutions, based in Morgan Hill, is another multi-service agency that has received several foundation grants over the years. In April, the foundation gave Community Solutions $2,260 toward an estimated $50,000 renovation of its shelter for battered women and their children. The shelter is in an undisclosed location and serves women of the Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin communities. A forgivable loan from the city of Morgan Hill will cover the bulk of the cost, according to Community Solutions Community and Resource Development Director Lisa DeSilva.
Founded in 1972, Community Solutions deals with mental illness, domestic violence, substance abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, juvenile delinquency, teen parenting, homelessness and “overburdened families,” according to DeSilva.
“Most of our clients are not dealing with just one of these issues,” she said.
In addition to the 15-bed domestic-abuse shelter, services include counseling, 24-hour crisis intervention, a 24-hour rape crisis hotline, two homes for teen mothers and babies and numerous home-based services, which include support, mentoring and skills development.
Another Foundation grant this year helped the South Valley Youth Orchestra, which formed in April 2002 and held three concerts in the past year. On Tuesday, it held its first rehearsal with new director Joey Fortino, also the Gilroy High School Band Director.
Local wineries and the Coast Range Brewing Company have donated their fares for this year’s fund raiser, and volunteers have been working for as long as nine months to secure donated auction items.
“It’s a fun event,” Day in the Country co-chair Barbara Orth said.
About the Gilroy Foundation
What is the Gilroy Foundation?
Governed by a board of 15, the Gilroy Foundation’s goal is to support the health, civic, cultural, educational and
recreational needs of the community.
How does it work?
Donors contribute money to the Gilroy Foundation’s general fund, which totals nearly $1 million. Each year, the interest generated by the fund is used to award grants.
Who received grants?
The foundation awarded $35,000 to local groups last spring. Foundation beneficiaries in 2003 included:
• Brownell Academy School Band
• St. Mary School
• Gilroy Family Resource Center
• Theater Angels Art League
• Gilroy Unified Schools Music Program
• Gilroy Gang Task Force
• Catholic Charities Immigration Services
• Rebekah Children’s Services
• Pacific West Christian Academy
• Learning and Loving Education Center
• Rotocare
• St. Joseph’s Family Center
• Gilroy Senior Advisory Board
• Centre for Living with Dying
• City of Gilroy Youth Recreation Scholarship Program
• Gilroy High School Scholarship Program
• Live Oak High School Scholarship Program
• Gavilan College Scholarship Program
• South Valley Youth Orchestra
• Community Solutions
How do you make a donation?
To find out more about the Gilroy Foundation, to donate, or to apply for a grant, call 842-3727 or visit the foundation’s Web site at www.gilroyfoundation.org.
