It’s not often that groups of people congregate to give thanks
to beer.
But that’s just what happened Monday afternoon when the
Hollister Rotary Club and the Hollister Independence Rally
Committee (HIRC) presented local nonprofit organizations with
donations generated by their beer garden at the 2003 Fourth of July
motorcycle rally.
It’s not often that groups of people congregate to give thanks to beer.
But that’s just what happened Monday afternoon when the Hollister Rotary Club and the Hollister Independence Rally Committee (HIRC) presented local nonprofit organizations with donations generated by their beer garden at the 2003 Fourth of July motorcycle rally.
“This one fund-raiser has enabled Hollister Rotary and HIRC jointly to give to the people of our community $60,000 over the past five years,” said Rotary Club president Richard Ferreira, during the luncheon presentation at Ridgemark Golf and Country Club. “Today you will meet the organizations that have benefited from our work.”
Recipients from the non-profit organizations received checks in amounts ranging from $500 to $2,000, depending on the need of the organization, Ferreira said. The donations that both clubs were able to give totaled about $13,000.
“We sit down and we pick out different organizations within the community that we feel really need (it),” Ferreira said. “They do good jobs and need the support.”
One organization that received money was a non-profit called Small Steps, which takes low income children shopping for clothes and shoes, who would otherwise go without, Ferreira said.
A spokeswoman for the organization, Lois Itow, voiced her appreciation to both clubs for their support.
“We were able to take 229 children shopping Saturday (Nov. 1) morning, and it was very successful,” Itow said. “We saw many smiles, thank you.”
Many of the organizations honored with donations were focused on the youth and the elderly.
“The seniors thank you and we thank you,” said Pauline Valdivia, director of Jovenes de Antano. “We hope you continue to support our program because it’s very vital – we need to take care of our elderly.”
Both the Rotary Club and HIRC are firm believers in helping youth and the elderly, said Bruce Beetz, a member of the Rotary board of directors.
“We don’t give it to the ones who don’t need it, and these groups would go under without this kind of support,” Beetz said.
One of the most important aspects of the donations is that most of the money comes from outside San Benito County, but helps organizations within it, Ferreira said.
“It means that the people who you normally get the money from now have that money to give to other things,” he said. “We’re not draining the local community… that’s the big benefit of the rally.”
Of the 23,000 tickets sold for the 2003 rally, well over 50 percent did not get sold in San Benito County, said Dave Ventura, finance director for HIRC.
“And we’re possibly opening another beer garden again this year so we’ll have that much more to give away (next year),” Ventura said.
In addition to helping the nonprofit organizations, being able to donate money from outside the community saves the city money, Beetz said.
“The benefits that these nonprofits bring back to the city saves them a ton of money,” he said. “For every dollar we put in saves them $10 or $20.”
While each nonprofit organization that received donations has a different focus and goal within the community, they all expressed the same sentiment toward both the Rotary Club and HIRC – their thanks.
The two clubs were also able to thank certain groups that made the beer garden possible.
Two people who were unable to attend the luncheon, but deserve a tremendous debt of gratitude are Jerry Muenzer and Brent Redmond, Beetz said after the presentation.
Muenzer allowed HIRC to use his parking lot during the rally and Redmond donated the use of his refrigerated trailer to transport and store the beer, Beetz said.
“On Fourth of July, when we’re out there pouring a little beer, this is what makes it all worth it,” Ferreira said in his closing remarks. “When your neighbors complain about the noise of the motorcycles for a few days, just remind them of what you saw today.”
