Community

Life’s best lessons aren’t always learned in the classroom.

The tire-destroying powers of spiky goat head thorns prove no match for Kevin Griffin—affectionately known as “Shifty.”

Every Tuesday afternoon, a group of local volunteers gather around a table in an industrial building in Gilroy to write personal letters to people they've never met. This past Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 5, was no different. The volunteers penned words of gratitude and encouragement to American service members stationed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Interdependence.

The Faultline Derby Devilz will square off against the Bakersfield Diamond Divas in the Double D Disaster roller derby bout.

At the start of the Leadership Gilroy program in January, a group of 17 local participants had to invent a service project that would better the community. After canvassing many of Gilroy’s nonprofits and service agencies, the group noticed many low-income or homeless adults and children lack the simplest means of transportation—especially bicycles.The group, dubbed Spokes4Folks, took it upon themselves to collect 100 bicycles for the area's needy, but that goal was exceeded in short order Aug. 2 after a donation drive held in the parking lot of the Center for the Arts.Community members gave out roughly 50 new and used bikes during the event and Spokes4Folks plans on distributing the 120 bicycles they have by the end of August. Before the event took place, the group had already received 70 bicycles, Leadership Gilroy participant Whitney Pintello said.All the bicycles are donated and volunteers—including “Shifty” the mobile bike mechanic—help get them in working order. Next, Spokes4Folks will pass them on to local agencies including the Compassion Center, St. Joseph’s Family Center, Rebekah Children’s Services, Community Solutions and Jacob’s Heart.“We want people to feel the freedom of being able to go wherever they need to go,” Pintello said, as volunteers cataloged the donated bikes. “When you say to someone there’s a kid who can’t get to school or there’s someone who has a job but can’t get to work, people would rather help. Transportation is freedom.”Last week, Spokes4Folks unloaded 11 bicycles from a truck into the warehouse of the Compassion Center—a nonprofit that provides daytime outreach to the area’s homeless.“We had so much support we had to get bikes out of storage to make room for more,” Leadership Gilroy participant Vicky Martin said in the Compassion Center’s warehouse. “We wanted to get them to people who need them as quickly as possible and make room for more. We’re really proud of our efforts and the community has really jumped in and helped.”According to Leadership Gilroy participant Edward Cervantes, transportation is a commonly encountered problem in Gilroy. Also the director of student support services at Gavilan College, Cervantes said one of his student workers had to ride her bike to her classes from the center of town for more than a semester. Eventually, she got a car and her situation quickly improved.“Now, she’s doing wonderful things,” Cervantes said.But the lack of transportation crosses all age barriers and there are children in Gilroy—and across South County—who have to walk to school because they lack any alternative.“Giving them a bike would do them wonders,” Cervantes said. “And that’s what it’s all about—giving people the tools to help them empower themselves. It feels good to give people one of those tools.”According to Pintello, every child who gets a bicycle will receive a helmet and a lock will accompany every bicycle—many donated by local businesses and organizations.Though Leadership Gilroy is a 10-month course and graduation is set for October, participants hope next year’s class—or anyone else who’s interested—picks it up as a legacy project.“It’s hit such a nerve with the community and we’re hoping that somebody will see the need and carry it on,” Martin said.For more information or details on how to donate, visit spokes4folks.org.

Two Gavilan College students in the Computer Graphics and Design program—and their instructor—walked away from the California State Fair in Sacramento last month with top honors, extending the program’s winning streak for a fifth straight year.

TRES PINOS—Alyssa Elliott and Rachel Tripoli are students at San Benito and Christopher, respectively, and neither one plays a sport in high school.

After 30 years as a volunteer for the Gilroy Garlic Festival, Morgan Hill resident Steve Padilla has nothing but praise for his fellow volunteers and South County residents who have made the festival a world-renowned marquis event.Padilla, 65, started volunteering for the festival in 1984, worked his way up the ranks just as he did in his career as a firefighter. In his first few years, he picked up garbage and poured wine. At last weekend’s 36th Garlic Fest, Padilla served as a member of the advisory committee, which acts as the glue that holds all the different moving parts of the three-day festival together, he explained during a break on festival grounds at Christmas Hill Park July 27. He has been involved in the management aspect of the festival since 2000, once serving on the board of directors, said the retired San Jose Fire Captain. Garlic keeps him busy year-round, he said, as he and other volunteers are already planning next year’s festival. Padilla has lived in Morgan Hill since 1977, where he raised three daughters and has six granddaughters. For the last five years, he has also volunteered for Morgan Hill’s annual Fourth of July Freedom Fest. His brother Manny Padilla convinced him to join that effort. Steve said he was initially inclined to volunteer for the Garlic Fest 30 years ago through word-of-mouth buzz about how unique and generous the festival is. The vigorous involvement of the South County community—from the 4,000 volunteers to the more than 80,000 attendees—is what keeps Padilla volunteering at the Garlic Fest today. “There’s a waiting list to volunteer” for the Garlic Fest, Padilla exclaimed. The local enthusiasm is highlighted at nighttime during every Garlic Fest, as local homes and businesses surrounding the festival grounds liven up with parties and unofficial festivities. Over the past 36 years, the Garlic Fest has raised more than $10 million for area nonprofits and organizations, according to festival organizers. The 2014 festival raised more than $1.7 million in revenue. As a member of the festival’s advisory committee, the biggest part of Padilla’s job is to act as a “liaison” between festival organizers and the hundreds of food and merchandise vendors, ensuring everything meets health, safety and fire codes. That includes providing the vendors with “everything they need” as far as water, electricity hook-ups and supplies. “One thing about this festival is they really cater to their vendors,” Padilla said. Throughout this past weekend, he was also seen helping with sponsor hospitality behind the festival’s Cook-Off stage, and directing patrons through the waiting area for shuttles to off-site parking lots. “It’s addictive, when you see the involvement of the people,” Padilla said. “I just kept wanting to get more involved, and help give more money back to the community.” 

A team of educators, volunteers and administrators involved with the Gilroy Unified School District’s free educational summer camp want to prove that children born from low-income households and those already struggling in school are not destined for failure.

Gilroy-based Operation Freedom Paws is vying to pocket $25,000 through Turbana’s Win $25K For Your Cause program.