Editorial: Reach out and help someone in need in the South Valley
Published in the August 24 – September 6, 2016 issue of Gilroy Life
Gilroy Garlic Festival Association volunteers work to help others.
Photo courtesy Gilroy Garlic Festival Association
A disaster can happen at any time. For five families in San Martin, that time came Aug. 7. A vegetation fire that afternoon grew out of control and spread with the winds across four acres, destroying several mobile homes on the 1400 block of Murphy Avenue.
With the loss of their shelter and many of their belongings, the families, which are made up of 13 residents including six children, are in desperate need of assistance. Thankfully, the South Valley community stepped up.
Morgan Hill resident Cecelia Ponzini, the director of the Edward Boss Prado Foundation, drove to San Martin to see how she might be able to help. She told us she saw some of the residents sifting through the rubble, trying to salvage any keepsake or item that might be still useful. She invited the families to her Cecelia’s Closet to obtain clothing, shoes and other daily necessities.
She also provided gift cards so they could get food and other items. Also helping out the displaced residents was the Silicon Valley chapter of the American Red Cross which sent a Disaster Action Team to provide the suddenly homeless people with hygiene products and blankets, funds for food and short-term housing and directed them to county resources.
Also, Dan Keith at Rocca’s Market started a Facebook page called Our Town San Martin days before the fire and people have stepped up offering help, he said. Keith said what the family needs now is gift cards and they can be brought to Rocca’s Market.
The outpouring of offers to help the families reflects the spirit of generosity here in the South Valley region. We live in an area where many people give of their time and talents as well as their financial resources to help other people.
This generosity was reflected at the Gilroy Garlic Festival when thousands of people volunteered to put on the food festival and raise money for their various nonprofits. Gilroy Life publisher Marty Cheek spent several hours pouring beer at one of the booths and was impressed with the high level of camaraderie among the volunteers.
Morgan Hill residents also have a good reputation for pitching in and volunteering to make the community an even better place for everyone. The Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras attracts about 80,000 people a year during the Memorial Day weekend. The many volunteers who put on the festival help raise more than $50,000 in scholarship funds each year for local high school seniors.
And the Freedom Fest events, put on by the nonprofit group Independence Day Celebration, Inc., creates for all of the South Valley region a big birthday bash celebrating the values of the American nation. The July 3 Family Street Dance, Children’s Patriotic Sing, Fourth of July Parade, and fireworks show at the Outdoor Sports Center would not be if it weren’t for the dedicated people who work unpaid throughout the year organizing the events as well as the volunteers from Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill who give their time during the celebration to make sure its safe and fun.
During the summer, volunteers also help put on the various community musical events that unite a community together at the beginning of the weekend with free entertainment in our downtown.
Gilroy’s downtown Fifth Street Live music series has grown thanks to the volunteers who put it on in association with the Gilroy Downtown Business Association. And the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s popular Friday Night Music Series at the Downtown Amphitheater created a team-building volunteer program this summer where companies bring together employees to help with the beer and wine tent for the more than 1,000 people who attend and enhance their business’s spirit of camaraderie.
Whether it is helping out people who suddenly lost their homes to a fire or serving calamari at the Gourmet Alley food tent at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, there are always opportunities to help people who find themselves in a time of need. We encourage everyone to be part of the endeavor to make our corner of the world a better place for all. We encourage you to reach out and help someone.
