GILROY
– More than a dozen Gilroy-based non-profit groups received an
early Christmas gift this week, when international energy giant
Calpine wrapped up its second season of giving back to the
community.
GILROY – More than a dozen Gilroy-based non-profit groups received an early Christmas gift this week, when international energy giant Calpine wrapped up its second season of giving back to the community.
Calpine Gilroy Energy Center, which operates two energy-generating stations in “garlic town,” has awarded $50,000 in grants to 14 community organizations, from cultural groups to social service agencies. Grants ranged from $1,000 to $8,270, with the largest contribution going toward the improvement of a softball field at Gavilan College.
“It’s a real gift to our current athletes, because it enhances their opportunities. It will bring the college into Title IX compliance by making the women’s facilities comparable to the men’s facilities. And it will help to recruit future athletes, by giving them the opportunity to train and play in a quality facility,” said Ron Hannon, director of athletics for Gavilan College.
Calpine’s donations come on the heels of winning a Large Business of the Year Award from the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce in November.
“We make it a point to become involved in the communities we do business in, but there isn’t a grant in every town we’re in,” Calpine spokesman Kent Robertson said.
At Community Solutions, which helps the homeless as well as sufferers of mental illness, family dysfunction, substance abuse and domestic violence, $4,500 will be used to continue a juvenile justice program.
Restorative Justice allows juveniles with misdemeanor offenses to, in lieu of the court system, go before a neighborhood board that serves as trained probation officers. The neighborhood board talks with the youth about how his or her offense impacted others and gives the offender 90 days to complete a contract of restitution. Typically, the contract requires participation in counseling, tutoring and community service efforts.
“We usually have the funding to cover staff, but it’s those other costs, like transportation services for our clients and office supplies, that are always hard to cover,” said Lisa DeSilva, a director of Community Solutions.
Another of the larger grants – $4,900 to the Gilroy Public Art Committee – funds the second and third phase of the downtown mural project at Hornlein Court and Monterey Street on the wall of the Milias building between Sixth and Seventh streets.
“Are we excited to know we have funding for the next phases? That’s an understatement,” Public Art Committee member Susan Voss said.
The mural, which was commissioned by the art committee and the city and painted by local artist Nancy Grieves, currently depicts an American flag in front of a Gilroy hillscape.
“The theme is Gilroy past, present and future, but the past and future have yet to be accomplished,” Voss quipped.
The grants were awarded by a special committee made up of Calpine directors and several community members representing the City Council, the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
A total of 22 requests were made by Gilroy agencies. Although all applicants met the criteria for grants, eight were turned down.
