The Gilroy Foundation, a collection of community members who
donate funds to help others satisfy their philanthropic goals, gave
away more than $330,000 for local scholarships and grants Thursday
night. Full article
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The Gilroy Foundation, a collection of community members who donate funds to help others satisfy their philanthropic goals, gave away more than $330,000 for local scholarships and grants Thursday night at the Gilroy Center for the Arts downtown.
It was a record donation for the three-decades-old Foundation, according to President John Perales. In all, the Foundation donated $350,281 for grants for local nonprofit organizations and student scholarships.
“It’s a hugely important event for all of us because this is a way for us to be constantly giving away,” said Kurt Svardal, president of the 2011 Gilroy Garlic Festival.
Jacqui Carrasco, who wrote a grant application seeking funds for more violins for the Antonio Del Buono Elementary School Violin Program, said some programs in the area would suffer immensely without assistance from the Gilroy Foundation.
“It brings influential people in the community and people who have money with people who don’t have the money for these programs,” she said. “We have a lot of good programs in the community and we need to keep them going.”
Thursday’s funds will cover a wide array of services and materials for Gilroy area organizations, including the $1,000 that will help the City of Gilroy’s Community Services office start physical fitness and nutritional education programs for children in low-income families, said recreation coordinator Susan Voss.
Sylvia Myrvold of the Gilroy Arts Alliance, said a $2,250 donation would toward tables and “100 very comfortable” chairs for the Center for the Arts.
“Next time the foundation comes here, you’ll be sitting in the chairs you helped purchase,” she said.
The Center for the Arts also received $20,000 for programs from the center’s endowment fund.
School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County announced it would use a $2,500 gift to immunize low-income and homeless students in Gilroy.
Thursday was also an emotional night for one family and the partners to which it was donating.
The Sean Michael Merriman Scholarship Fund donated $9,000 to Mount Madonna High School for nine student scholarships, and a separate Sean Michael Merriman St. Joseph’s Family Center Fund gave $13,500 to the local nonprofit center.
“I’ll never forget your friendship and I live to be like you,” said David Cox, executive director of St. Joseph’s, to Craig and Jacqui Merriman, parents of the late Sean Merriman.
Sean Merriman died in 2006 when a tow truck struck his Caltrans work site while he was repairing potholes on U.S. Highway 101.
“Miss you, Sean,” Cox added before leaving the stage.
Local students will also receive a boost from the donations.
The Don Christopher Fund donated more than $66,000 for programs at Christopher High School, a total that greatly excited Perales, who serves as the school’s principal.
“This money really does make a difference,” he said. “I see it every day.”
A total of $88,000 was set aside for scholarships for individual local graduating seniors. The scholarships range from $500 to $40,000 a piece. The Gilroy Unified School District received a $31,000 nonprofit partnership distribution.
“This is what you work for all year long,” said Foundation Executive Director Donna Pray. “People that work for the Foundation like myself have the best job in the world. What’s better than raising all this money to give to the community for these programs? What better job is there than that?”
The Foundation donated more than $25,000 for competitive grants to: the Christopher High School Link Crew, the Gilroy Historical Society, the South Valley Pregnancy Care Center, Leadership Gilroy, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Center, City of Gilroy Community Services, the Christopher High School fine arts program, Hope Services, the Christopher High School drama program, Live Oak Adult Day Services, the Antonio Del Buono Violin Program, St. Joseph’s Family Care Center, the DreamPower Foundation, the Gilroy Arts Alliance, Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County and Ascension Solorsano Middle School.
Also receiving funds from donations Thursday were: Gilroy Garlic Scholarship Fund, the Gilroy Dog Park, Diabetes Society of Santa Clara County, St. Mary School, Parks and Rec. Youth Scholarships, Gavilan College, Gilroy High School, the Gilroy Unified School District, GUSD Spanish teacher Gretchen Yoder-Schrock, the GUSD English Learner Advisory Committee, the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, South Valley Middle School math teacher Carmen Koto and Gilroy Japanese Community Programs.
