Checks total $253,000 sent to 169 organizations who helped out
in all aspects of the summer festival
Gilroy – The Gilroy High School band, St. Joseph’s Family Center and scores of other nonprofit groups will receive a cash infusion in coming days, thanks to the summertime labors of 4,000 volunteers who run the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
The nonprofit Garlic Festival Association has mailed checks totaling $253,000 to 169 organizations, many of whose members helped with admissions, food sales, parking, and other aspects of the July festival that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The latest round of giving brings overall contributions by the festival, which started in 1979, to more than $7.5 million.
“We are thrilled to maintain our annual tradition of giving back to the community,” said Brian Bowe, the festival’s executive director. “The strength of our festival has always been in the huge volunteer workforce that comes out and helps us, and it’s really a pleasure and honor to give back to them.”
The event brought in less cash than last year’s record-setting 27th festival, which raised $300,000 for nonprofit groups. Last year’s event drew 129,644 visitors to the artist’s tents, food booths, music stages and other annual attractions assembled at Christmas Hill Park, while just more than 90,000 people attended this July.
Despite the drop in ticket sales, Bowe said charitable contributions kept pace with the five-year average of $250,000.
Festival donations represent the sweat of more than 4,000 volunteers who sold food, directed traffic, picked up litter and performed countless other jobs to keep the three-day event running smoothly. Each volunteer channels their hourly wages to a charity of their choice.
For the second year in a row, the Gilroy Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was the top recipient, raising $12,970 in contributions. Chamber volunteers typically serve food and beer to fellow volunteers in designated hospitality areas.
“I have to thank all the volunteers that gave their time,” said Raul Vega, the chamber’s treasurer. “The volunteers make it happen and without them we couldn’t be number one.”
The chamber uses its funds to provide scholarships and support for various groups in Gilroy that promote culture and education. Past recipients include the Gilroy High School Latin Club and the Gilroy Sister Cities Association, an international cultural exchange program.
Less than $10 separated Gilroy Elks Lodge #1567 from a top place finish in fundraising. The group annually enlists 200 to 250 volunteers to run Gourmet Alley – a massive assembly-line operation that churns out calamari, pepper steaks and pasta con pesto for hungry visitors.
Revenues from the festival typically make up a third of the Elks’ charity budget, according to Gilroy Elks Lodge Secretary W. John Filice. The group’s festival earnings fell by $4,000 from last year, though Filice said the group hopes to make up the difference through other events.
The Elks direct their charity dollars to a wide range of causes: high school scholarships, Little Leaguers, military veterans. But the inspiration for their good works come from one place, Filice said: “It’s something that has to come from within.”
After nearly three decades, the Garlic Festival continues to be the city’s marquee event and a vital source of cash for local nonprofits. But that doesn’t mean organizers are content with the status quo. Plans for next year include an effort to allow artists, food vendors and others to apply for booths online. The addition aims to build on the success of this summer, when festival-goers were able to buy tickets on the Web for the first time. Organizers also plan to tweak recipes in Gourmet Alley.
But the biggest change is aimed at giving back to the people who, year after year, help support so many organizations. Next year, festival organizers plan to eliminate hospitality areas and offer volunteers the chance to eat specialty dishes served up in Gourmet Alley. The sequestering of volunteers in hospitality areas has long been a source of complaints.
Bowe said the change will improve efficiency by consolidating festival-run food operations in one place, and will let volunteers spend time between shifts with their families.
“We’re trying to make it more user-friendly for volunteers,” he said.
Award Organization
$1,101.88 Adams 4-H
$71.04 Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
$209.71 Alisal Eagels Youth Football League
$1,118.13 American Association of University Women
$2,097.16 American Blind Golf Association
$76.44 American Cancer Society
$46.96 American Cancer Society – Relay For Life Gilroy
$2,373.34 American Red Cross
$535.76 Anchorpoint Christian School Athletic Dept
$1,148.37 Antonio Del Buono School Home & School Club
$1,432.64 Antonio Del Buono School Special Day Class
$702.96 Antonio Del Buono School Violin Program
$314.27 Ascencion Solarsano MS DC Trip
$659.32 Ascencion Solarsano MS Math Dept
$94.08 Bellermine College Preparatory
$334.48 Beta Sigma Phi Delta Mu Zeta
$1,081.47 Beta Sigma Phi Laureate Kappa Zeta
$26.52 Boy Scouts of America
$1,346.51 Boy Scouts of America Troop #707
$374.49 Boy Scouts of America Troop #711
$1,754.58 Boy Scouts of America Troop #730
$216.08 Brownell Academy 8th Gr Washington Trip
$1,840.44 Brownell Academy Band Program
$1,243.50 Brownell Academy Parents Club
$390.72 Cal Star Program
$250.88 CCOC Explorers Post #703
$675.69 Christians in Commerce
$1,068.99 City of Gilroy Kids Discover Art
$2,342.62 City of Gilroy Therapeutic Recreation
$550.56 Congregation Emeth
$313.76 CSEA of Gavilan #270
$159.12 Cub Scout Pack #794
$1,379.36 Daughters of American Revolution
$451.47 Delta Delta Delta
$125.20 EAHS Band
$93.90 EAHS Parent Club
$1,500.72 Eliot School Library Fund
$550.56 Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter
$3,114.69 Garlic Valley Amateur Radio Club
$2,092.72 Gateway Center
$174.45 Gavilan College Community Choir
$11.76 Gavilan College Softball
$3,023.94 Gavilan Cosmetology Club
$72.72 Gerald Rawn Memorial Scholarship
$1,296.53 GHS Ag Boosters
$127.40 GHS Art & Literary Magazine
$168.60 GHS Athletics
$2,037.80 GHS Band/Color Guard Boosters
$7,505.22 GHS Boys Basketball
$1,031.75 GHS Boys Soccer
$2,064.66 GHS Cheerleaders
$10,339.51GHS Choir
$1,259.26 GHS Cross Country Team
$577.78 GHS Football
$141.18 GHS Girls Basketball
$1,848.94 GHS Girls Field Hockey
$628.90 GHS Girls Soccer
$1,339.84 GHS Girls Softball
$914.54 GHS Girls Volleyball
$1,289.38 GHS Grad Night
$119.74 GHS GSA Club/Badminton
$2,616.64 GHS Latinos Program
$584.78 GHS Parent Club
$1,252.78 GHS Quarterback Club
$1,397.12 GHS Swim & Girls Water Polo Teams
$1,158.10 GHS Track & Field
$10,302.00GHS Wrestling
$1,380.75 Gilroy Chaos Sports Organization
$12,960.52Gilroy Elks Lodge #1567
$27.23 Gilroy Fire Department
$571.43 Gilroy Gang Task Force
$6,196.16 Gilroy Gators Swim Team
$1,818.00 Gilroy Hawks Wrestling
$12,970.06Gilroy Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
$973.65 Gilroy Historical Society
$1,543.75 Gilroy JACL
$2,900.02 Gilroy Paid Call Firefighters Assn
$8,591.54 Gilroy Police Explorers Post 818
$4,629.38 Gilroy Presbyterian Church
$127.40 Gilroy Presbyterian Church Mexicali Mission
$1,069.53 Gilroy Presbyterian Church Youth Group
$27.23 Gilroy Senior Center
$942.18 Gilroy Youth Commission
$556.43 Girl Scout Troop #707
$601.84 Glenview Home & School Club
$24.24 Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
$579.97 Gunn HS Junior Class
$2,941.15 GUSD Scholarship Fund – SakaBozzo Scholarship
$312.65 Guys & Dolls Dance Group
$27.27 Intero Foundation
$3,019.20 Jubilee South Valley
$870.24 Knights of Columbus – Gilroy
$1,118.88 Knights of Columbus – Morgan Hill
$198.90 La Isla Pacifica
$55.62 Las Animas Home & School Club
$403.14 Leadership Gilroy
$2,379.84 Lions Club of Gilroy
$532.80 Lions Club of San Martin
$669.82 Live Oak Adult Day Services
$6,211.02 Live Oak HS “Emerald Regime”
$110.88 Live Oak HS Boys Soccer
$27.23 Live Oak HS Football Team
$1,720.32 Morgan Hill Police Explorers
$122.64 Native Daughters of the Golden West Parlor #312
$150.24 New Hope Community Church
$478.74 Odyssey Theater Company
$461.76 Orchard Valley Soccer Lightning
$7,220.60 Orchard Valley Soccer Pumas
$153.92 Pacific West Christian Academy
$136.35 Palma HS Baseball
$545.18 Palma HS Golf Team
$1,137.05 Palma Varsity Football
$1,136.64 Philanthropic Education Organization
$48.48 Pine Ridge Assn
$83.34 Planned Parenthood
$216.08 Presbyterian Cooperative Preschool
$387.76 Presbyterian First Church Hollister
$175.74 Presentation High School
$989.04 Puente Program
$2,857.69 Rainbow Assembly #125
$6,382.41 Rebekah Childrens Services
$193.92 Rod Kelley Parent Club
$127.51 Rucker School
$263.61 Rucker School 2nd Grade
$263.61 Rucker School 4th Grade
$219.10 Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation
$134.59 Salinas Rodeo Rotary
$509.86 San Benito HS Band
$30.30 San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation
$1,387.41 San Lorenzo Little League
$339.12 Santa Clara County Police Explorers
$215.04 Santa Clara Police Explorers Post #819
$1,765.80 So Santa Clara Co Fire District PCF
$1,895.99 Sobrato HS Football
$935.36 Sobrato HS Grad Night
$1,509.38 Sobrato HS Spirit Team
$1,180.86 Soledad HS NJROTC
$1,747.46 South County Baseball Boosters
$808.86 South County Compassion Center
$1,606.95 South Valley Civic Theater
$8,285.42 South Valley Community Church
$379.86 South Valley Community Church – HS Group
$1,553.64 South Valley Community Church Womens Ministries
$57.57 South Valley Community Church Youth Ministry
$1,188.40 South Valley JH Band
$528.89 South Valley JH DC Trip
$24.24 South Valley JH Home & School Club
$54.54 South Valley JH School
$580.82 South Valley JH Special Ed
$101.92 South Valley Youth Symphony
$108.90 Special Olympics
$563.40 Spiritual Growth Resources
$36.36 St Catherine School
$3,669.34 St Joseph’s Family Center
$54.45 St Jude’s Research Hospital
$266.64 St Mary 7th Grade Boys Basketball
$2,696.93 St Mary Church
$3,042.32 St Mary Parish Youth Group
$5,491.12 St Mary School
$548.93 St Mary Youth Group – Mexico
$788.48 Sunnyvale Police Explorers
$60.60 Sunrise Rotary of Gilroy
$1,343.84 Theater Angels Art League
$248.12 Undershare, Inc.
$584.79 United Methodist Church of Gilroy
$3,656.45 United Soccer
$1,089.47 Venture Scouts Crew #400
$4,666.06 Victory Outreach
$692.64 Vineyard Christian Preschool