Dear Editor,
Thanks to The Dispatch’s Lori Stuenkel and photographer Daniel
A. Cressman for really capturing the essence of the evening
– the outpouring of gifts received and handed out by Gilroy
Eigleberry Neighborhood Association and our great supporters.
Dear Editor,
Thanks to The Dispatch’s Lori Stuenkel and photographer Daniel A. Cressman for really capturing the essence of the evening – the outpouring of gifts received and handed out by Gilroy Eigleberry Neighborhood Association and our great supporters.
Last year GENA did adopt a family, but this year our whole neighborhood and beyond were adopted by a group from South Valley Christian Church who’s name says it all “Purpose in Community.” This group came to me and said that they wanted to help in the community and together we started meeting to plan a Christmas event that would benefit more than one family. We thought maybe 100 to 150 families would be a great success. Beyond our wildest dreams we did not think we would reach 300-400 people.
After hoping that we had received enough gifts to accommodate all, our pleasant surprise we went into action mode. The Purpose in Community group and all other volunteers, after realizing what a great thing that was going to happen, went right to work and handled the situation perfectly. Especially since this was their FIRST event.
Santa Claus, who was mistakenly named, was Joe Zertuche. He did an awesome job for being called at the last minute to fill in. I don’t think he knew how many kids he would make happy that evening. He wouldn’t even take a break knowing other kids were outside in line waiting to see him. Williams Dental really helped make the event a success by donating a very substantial donation and gifts. CALSTAR and Gilroy Community Development donated fliers. Impala’s Car Club showed up with a large donation of gifts they had collected from their toy drive. Googooli kid’s hair salon gave 20 free haircuts and 100 products to put into gift bags. Thanks to our other sponsors, Happy Dog Pizza, Dean and Katherine Filice, Hobby World, K B Toy Outlet, 24/7 Workspace Inc., Councilman Charlie Morales and the numerous other people who showed up to volunteer or donate gifts and raffle prizes. Special THANKS to Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero for jumping at the opportunity to give back to the community and being a positive role model that everyone in Gilroy can be proud of.
Arthur C. Barron Sr., Gilroy
