Around Town … with Robert Airoldi: Honor our veterans by helping student raise funds for headstones

Christopher High School senior still needs to raise $6,000 for veterans headstones at Gavilan Hills

By Robert Airoldi

Robert Airoldi

Gilroy Foundation Youth Board member Danielle Russell has been honored by the local Gilroy chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars for winning the Voice of Democracy essay contest. After accepting the award, Danielle was asked to talk about her Gavilan Hills Veterans Memorial Project.

The Christopher High School senior still needs to raise $6,000.

These funds will be used to install headstones for veterans who lie in unmarked graves in the Gavilan Hills Cemetery. Money will also be spent to install service medallions for the existing headstones that do not identify the graves as belonging to veterans.

“This way it will be ensured that every veteran in the Gavilan Hills Cemetery will be properly honored and remembered on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Wreaths Across America,” Russell said.

Want to help the with this worthwhile project to respect those men and women who served America? Then visit www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=JZUA5HM7QVGEY

Memorial Day is a month away so this is a great way to honor those who died for our country.

Speaking of Memorial Day, our friends at the American Legion Gilroy Post #27 asked us to let Gilroyans know that all are invited to the Remembrance Ceremony held at 11 a.m. May 31 at the Veterans Memorial Building.

Event organizer and veteran Ray Sanchez said this is a wonderful way to honor those who gave their lives to preserve the American experiment.

“Join us for the most important measure of the day, that which honors our fallen heroes, those who made the supreme sacrifice to insure freedom,” he said.

Yay, young people! They’re stepping up to serve as stewards of the Earth.

Mount Madonna School fifth grade students have organized a clean-up challenge to prevent waste material from entering the oceans. The students have begun an online campaign and are enlisting their peers and entire school community and general public to help spread the word and gain support for the effort.

Students are reaching out to the school community, friends of Mount Madonna School and the public locally, nationally and beyond, in hopes of eliciting a broad engagement. The rules are simple: go outside and pick up trash, use a tally form to keep track of the types of trash collected, and upload a selfie with the trash you’ve collected. The entry process is quick and easy.

“We hope you will participate in our clean-up challenge and share our PSA video and posters far and wide so that people all over the world will be inspired to go outside and help clean up trash,” said the fifth grade students and teacher Jessica Cambell in a press release. “Thank you for supporting the fifth grade and helping to make the oceans a bit safer for the 100,000 marine animals that die each year from plastic.”

The challenge ends May 1, 2021, so you have a few days left.

Good news in progress regarding the pandemic. More than one million people age 16 and older living in Santa Clara County have received at least a first dose of a vaccine to fight COVID-19 and more than 31 percent have been completely inoculated.

Haven’t got your shot? Don’t waste a moment and get on the list to get a needle jabbed into your arm to stop the spread. County of Santa Clara officials has just released thousands of additional vaccine appointments across multiple sites.

All individuals aged 16 and older who live or work in Santa Clara County are eligible and encouraged to sign up for a vaccination appointment at sccfreevax.org.

The county will continue extensive outreach efforts to ensure that communities most impacted by COVID-19 have ready access to vaccine appointments and information. It will also increase availability for appointments and drop-in clinics to ensure ready access for the entire community.

“We encourage everyone who is eligible to sign up for an appointment now,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, Associate Chief Medical Officer for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “The vaccines are our most critical and effective tools to protect you and your loved ones, especially with variants of the virus circulating in our community.”

Albert Marques

Our Latino Leaders columnist Vanessa Soto had a nice chat with Gavilan College Spanish teacher Albert Marqués and learned the talented flamenco guitarist has been working on a project to inspire Gilroyans.

In 2019, the Christopher family, our local garlic growers operating Christopher Ranch, made a request to Gavilan’s music department to write special music reflecting on the tragic mass shooting events at that summer’s Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Marques came up with a beautiful song and Silvia Lambert, a violinist for a mariachi band, sang it. Unfortunately, COVID hit, putting a brake on the project. They still intend to record the song and get it out for South Valley residents to enjoy now that society is opening up.

“I really love the song,” Marqués said. “It’s called ‘Gilroy Strong’ and it talks about the event that happened. I want to incorporate the choirs from Gilroy High School and Christopher High School to perform it someday.”

We can’t wait to hear the song!

The Gavilan College Career/Transfer Center is hosting a Virtual Career & Job Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 29. Students and community members will have the opportunity to speak with people who work in a variety of industries, as well as apply for jobs and internships. These events will feature 20 to 30 minute presentations from employers. Attendees can also learn about the college STEM and Career Education programs. To join visit www.cccconfer.zoom.us/j/99086313568.  Admission is free.

The Gilroy Sunrise Rotary Club has extended its deadline for its scholarship program until May 10.

The club will be awarding $3,500 in trade school/certification program scholarships to students who meet these guidelines

• Qualified high school seniors graduating in 2021 who will enter their first years of college this fall.
• Gavilan College or other students who are entering a trade school in fall.

Each scholarship will be between $500 and $1,000.

Some examples of trade/certification programs are stenographer, medical transcriptionist, aircraft maintenance/mechanic, paramedic, auto mechanic, culinary programs, trucking, police academy, firefighter, electrician, plumber, HVAC, nursing, cosmetology, and welding.

Interested in applying if you qualify? Contact the club at portal.clubrunner.ca/5394/ or email the organizer at [email protected]

Good luck in your application!

Finally, there some good news on the horizon regarding COVID-19 and the global pandemic that shuttered theme parks for more than a year.

Gilroy Gardens is scheduled to reopen at reduced capacity May 22.

Its mission is to educate and inspire families, especially children, to appreciate horticulture and the importance of trees in our lives by providing fun and memories in a beautiful garden setting.

We can’t wait!

Robert Airoldi is the editor of Gilroy Life. Reach him at [email protected].