Alvarez benefit draws hundreds

Classmates pleased with outcome of fundraiser
More than 500 people packed the Bolado Park Pavilion on Nov. 1
for the Lenny Alvarez Benefit, which benefited the local resident
who is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
”
It is such validation for Lenny and the person he is,
”
said Ivy Villegas, one of the organizers of the fundraiser.
”
There was a moment at about 6:15 p.m. when I was standing back
from the entrance and I could see people just pouring in. I became
extremely overwhelmed and emotional, as the support was so amazing
and so heartfelt.
”
Classmates pleased with outcome of fundraiser

More than 500 people packed the Bolado Park Pavilion on Nov. 1 for the Lenny Alvarez Benefit, which benefited the local resident who is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“It is such validation for Lenny and the person he is,” said Ivy Villegas, one of the organizers of the fundraiser. “There was a moment at about 6:15 p.m. when I was standing back from the entrance and I could see people just pouring in. I became extremely overwhelmed and emotional, as the support was so amazing and so heartfelt.”

A lifelong Hollister resident, the 43-year-old Alvarez was diagnosed two years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and causes muscle weakness and atrophy.

Villegas, Jason Noble and Mary Casillas, all high school classmates of Alvarez, organized the fundraiser to help Alvarez and his family offset costs of medical care. Alvarez, who has a 17-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son, was placed on permanent disability from his job as an AT&T service technician in August.

Casillas, in comments addressed to the assembled guests at Bolado, told Alvarez “God has chosen Lenny for this journey, but this is proof that you are not alone.”

The benefit featured live and silent auctions, which generated spirited bidding. The Hollister Rotary Club ran the bar and the San Benito High School Baler Boosters helped serve food and desserts. Music and dancing added to the festive event, which was also billed as a celebration of Alvarez’s good works with the community.

“Our other goal was to keep it very positive, to ensure that it was an upbeat gathering and that we were all there for a common goal; to support our friend Lenny and his family,” Villegas said. “And we did just that. Lenny knows he has the support of this wonderful community and its amazing residents.”

The approximately 525 tickets that were sold exceeded the organizers’ goal of 400.

“We received donations from friends, family and people that didn’t even know Lenny,” Villegas said. “For instance, a dentist in Fresno was coming through Hollister and stopped at Dunneville for lunch. He saw the flyer and the photo of Lenny and his family, and dropped a $200 donation in the mail.”

Villegas credited the event’s guests and sponsors for stepping up to help Alvarez and his family.

“Although three of us facilitated the event, it was the community that made it possible,” she said. “The feedback we’ve received from people who attended has been wonderful. I’m pretty sure that everyone there had a good time and they all felt the camaraderie and heartfelt prayers and good wishes in that room bestowed upon Lenny and his family.”

Alvarez’s “outlook is amazing and his spirit is extremely positive,” she added. “He made it easy for us to solicit help, as everyone wishes him the best and cares for him very much.”

Donations are still being accepted to assist the Alvarez family with medical expenses. Mail donations to Lenny Alvarez Benefit, P.O. Box 1509, Hollister, 95024. San Benito High School students are putting on a benefit car wash/bake sale this Saturday at the Sunnyslope Medical Center on the corner of Memorial and Sunnyslope.