Gilroy
– The injured and sick animals might not know it, but they’re
getting a party. Six Gavilan College students are organizing a
safari-themed dinner at the student center May 4 to raise money and
recruit volunteers for the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation
Center – a Morgan Hill-based organizat
ion that nurses animals back to health so they can be released
into the wild.
Gilroy – The injured and sick animals might not know it, but they’re getting a party.
Six Gavilan College students are organizing a safari-themed dinner at the student center May 4 to raise money and recruit volunteers for the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center – a Morgan Hill-based organization that nurses animals back to health so they can be released into the wild.
The center is always in need of money to help offset the cost of feeding the animals, constructing shelters, purchasing medical supplies and offering classes to the public, said Maureen Grzan, one of the six students organizing the event and daughter of Morgan Hill councilman Mark Grzan.
For three years, Grzan has helped build enclosures and tend to animals at the center, where her mother, Colleen Grzan, is an animal-care coordinator. She saw an opportunity to do more when – as part of an assignment for a communications class at Gavilan – her teacher charged her with doing publicity work for a nonprofit.
Grzan immediately thought of the wildlife center and found five colleagues to join her in the project.
“My group all has a love for animals, so it just seemed like the right place,” she said.
At the heart of the students’ effort is a dinner in the student center, which will be decorated to look like a jungle. Diners will be entertained by a local jazz and salsa band, movies including “Madagascar,” a raffle and a video-game tournament. With the entertainment and concept secured, the students now are on the hunt for donations from restaurants.
The work they have put in has far surpassed that for any other course, said Grzan.
“It’s become more than just a grade,” she said. “The effort that we’re going to put in will not be recorded by our teacher.”
In addition to any high marks, the students also have a fundraising goal of $200.
The money that the center receives will hopefully be supplemented by an increase in volunteers, said Grzan.
The community rightfully puts a lot of focus on supporting local businesses, but other organizations that are in need often go forgotten, she said.
Events such as the dinner wildlife center, not only support nonprofits, it makes for better public facility and enriches the entire community, she added.
“I think it’s going to benefit everybody,” she said.
