‘Hollister Halftime’ draws families seeking resources

The Hollister School District held its inaugural Hollister Halftime Community Connections event Feb. 1 at Sunnyslope Elementary School. 

The well-attended event featured youth workshops, parent workshops, a keynote speaker, health screenings, participation from community organizations, breakfast and lunch, childcare and transportation. 

School leaders kicked off the morning activities with welcome messages from Interim Superintendent Kip Ward, Director of Educational Services Dr. Colleen Myers and Coordinator of Special Projects Jill Camron. 

Accelerated Achievement Academy student Eduardo Cervantes played a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, and keynote speaker Jose Anzaldo spoke about growing up in East Salinas before heading to UC-Berkeley where he is a fourth-year student majoring in social welfare. 

Camron, who co-organized the event with Coordinator of Special Projects Stacie Bonura and kicked off the event, thanked the variety of district staff members and other community partners who helped to put together the conference before sending off students to their respective workshops. 

Student workshops covered such subject matter as yoga, self-care and self-management, art, social media dangers, and baking. There were other fun activities like a gaming truck. The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Program shared their insights. 

Other organizations like the Hollister Lions Club offered coffee products, while services such as vision and hearing screenings were offered. 

Parent workshops a bit later in the day included subjects such as yoga, dental care, child passenger safety, social media dangers, healthy relationships, parenting skills, self-management, the library/bookmobile and the Explorer Program. 

“This event is a labor of love,” Myers told the audience. “We are so excited to have our community members here and our children. This is just an organization of all those resources we have in Hollister and San Benito County to support you.”

“We welcome feedback,” she went on, “so we can make next year even bigger and better.”

Interim Superintendent Ward noted that more than 50 years ago he was a kindergarten student at Sunnyslope Elementary. 

“I’m very proud to be from Hollister, and thank you for being here this morning,” Ward told the crowd. 

He went on to thank all of the participants, parents and staff involved. He said the more connected students and families remain to schools, the better. 

“Look at this place,” he said. “Look at how full it is.” 

Anzaldo, the keynote speaker, talked about his experience as the subject of a 2018 PBS documentary “East of Salinas,” a story about his family’s challenges, his mother’s guidance and his path to success as a student. The son of migrant farmworkers, Anzaldo said the crowd reminded him of his mom and all of the similar events she would attend while going through school. 

“You give up a lot. You sacrifice a lot,” he said. “I just want you to look at me and say, that’s how far you can go.” 

He recalled experiencing poverty, and the fear his mother would feel about what could happen to Anzaldo and his siblings. He didn’t have anyone to guide him with his schoolwork and faced a language barrier. 

“I just had faith in education. My mom was the first person to have faith in it, even if she didn’t understand English,” he said. 

He also noted his mother prioritized his mental health and the importance of family members sticking together. Anzaldo told parents they’re probably wondering how they will get their children into higher education and pay for it. 

“Instead of focusing on what’s not possible,” he said, “I think the best you can do right now for your children is focus on what is possible.”