Nonprofit profile: Leadership Gilroy 2020 project goes virtual
This year’s class created three events that will raise money for local nonprofit organizations
Leadership Gilroy Class of 2020 at its retreat in January.
By Marty Cheek
Members of the Leadership Gilroy class of 2020 started the year thinking that, like all the other classes of the 10-month program, they would spend lots of hours with each other in close proximity. Then in mid-March the COVID-19 pandemic kicked into high gear. Shelter-in-place orders restricted their social distance.
The 20 students found themselves hewing their leadership skills at home through Zoom meeting lectures. They also used the video-conferencing system to meet virtually to develop their service project for the community. Given a local garlic flavor it’s cleverly called Gilroy cLOVE Days. The project will take place July 24 – 26 with the purpose of “honoring, strengthening, and celebrating our unique community” by raising funds to support seven local nonprofits, said class member Noemi Naranjo.
The class picked the three-day weekend originally scheduled to be the Gilroy Garlic Festival as a way to bring people of the South Valley together as a community that cares, she said.
Friday, July 24, will be cLOVE Community Awareness Day to bring attention to the local nonprofits and support small businesses in Gilroy. This online series of events will heighten the public’s awareness of the benefits and services these organizations provide our community. Watch it at www.facebook.com/Gilroyclovedays/.
All proceeds from these events will go toward supporting Rebekah Children’s Services, Operation Freedom Paws, Unravel Pediatric Cancer, Live Oak Adult Day Care, Community Solutions, Gilroy Compassion Center, and St. Joseph’s Family Center.
Through videos and photos, the event will show the people at the nonprofits who make Gilroy a special place to live, said Greg Troy, a retired teacher who is in this year’s class. Among the live broadcasts is a cooking demonstration and a children’s literacy program.
“We have prominent people who are going to be talking about what they ‘cLOVE’ about Gilroy,” he said.
Sunday, July 26, the class project encourages people in South Valley to come together safely in the afternoon from 2 to 6 p.m. through the cLOVE Block party.
“cLOVE the Block will bring our community together to celebrate the city of Gilroy’s resiliency and to reflect on everything the community has overcome and accomplished in the past year,” Naranjo said. Residents can organize a block party in their neighborhood and enjoy food, family, friends and fun, while practicing social distancing in their driveway. They are encouraged to celebrate by making signs, creating TikTok dance-off videos, and sidewalk chalk art.
At 5:30 p.m. that afternoon, the class will ask the community to observe a 30-second moment of unity and reflection, followed by ringing of the bells to celebrate the strength of our community. It was about that time during the closing hour the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting happened last summer.
To purchase a commemorative bell or T-shirt and raise money for the nonprofits, community members can visit www.gilroyclovechallenge.com/store-1.
To make Gilroy cLOVE Days extra fun and generate awareness of the event, the 2020 Leadership class is challenging people of the South Valley to eat a raw clove of garlic while video-recording themselves. They can then upload the video to a social media site such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. If someone refuses the challenge, they can make a monetary donation to the project. The challenge was launched in June and will continue until October when the class is scheduled to graduate.
“The Garlic Clove Challenge raises awareness and raises money for nonprofit organizations in Gilroy,” said Troy, the retired teacher. The fundraiser has raised more than $8,500 as of July 17 from people who chose not to eat the herb uncooked.
“Apparently a lot of people don’t like to eat raw garlic but those that do, it’s funny to watch their videos,” he said.
Also to raise money for nonprofits, merchandise such as bells, T-shirts and masks with the Gilroy cLOVE Days logo can be purchased on www.GilroyCLOVEDays.com.
“So many nonprofits are missing out on money that they either would have raised at the Garlic Festival or fundraisers that they’ve had to cancel because of the pandemic,” Naranjo said. “So we’re trying to help them as much as possible.”
The public health threat from the coronavirus limited many of the options for the class project, but technology such as Zoom helped the students in developing cLOVE Days, said Gilroy nutritional coach and personal trainer Delila Alegria who is in this year’s class.
“It’s an interesting time we live in and we’re having to adjust to all the changes,” she said. “The pandemic really pushed the way we thought about our project and the regulations we had to follow.”
Norma Aceves, an accountant with the city of Gilroy, said participating in the class during COVID-19 forced her and the other students to be flexible because of the shelter-in-place restrictions. Adjusting to the crisis in turn inspired their creativity to come up with their service project, she said.
“It’s been a little challenging, it’s been a lot of fun,” she said. “This is our new normal now and we want to make sure we keep everyone safe.”
One lesson the Leadership Gilroy class of 2020 is learning is that in difficult times leaders can find ways to deal with the obstacles life — or a microbe — might throw in their way in getting their goals, Naranjo said.
“It’s just learning to go with the flow in terms of leadership because you can’t predict what’s going to happen,” she said. “We started this program with certain expectations and the world changed. And so we had to change with it. You can plan things as much as you want, but you also have to be willing to change because the world isn’t always going to go like you planned it.”
Editor’s note: Publisher Marty Cheek is a graduate of the Leadership Gilroy class of 2017.