Nine local youth organizations and a San Benito High School
student are the beneficiaries of a record year for the Bolado
Charity Rodeo.
Nine local youth organizations and a San Benito High School student are the beneficiaries of a record year for the Bolado Charity Rodeo.
The board of directors of the annual rodeo recently gave a total of $7,500 in donations to the youth groups and in a scholarship for an SBHS student who participates in rodeo.
The amount of money awarded was more than four times the amount donated from the 2001 rodeo, which netted $2,300. For last year’s rodeo, the seventh annual event, local businesses donated as prizes six saddles, silver buckles and other items. The prizes attracted more competitors to the rodeo and pushed its earnings to $8,000.
“With the help of the saddles, the number of contestants doubled,” said Dana Rodrigues, president of the board of directors of the 2002 rodeo.
Each year, the board donates the income from the rodeo to local youth groups, minus $500 that’s used as seed money for the next year’s event. Donations are given based on written requests submitted by local youth groups, which are reviewed by the board.
“These were hard decisions to make,” said Jaynie Little, program coordinator for the 2002 rodeo. “There are a lot of good youth organizations in the county.”
The organizations receiving funds are Gabilan Hills Elementary School Parents Program; the 4-H Family and Consumer Science Department; the Friends of the San Benito County Free Library for the library’s teen section; the Hollister Police Department’s Juvenile Impact and D.A.R.E. programs; Hollister Children’s Rainbow Theatre; the SBHS Baler Band Boosters; Hollister Youth Alliance; and the special education program at Marguerite Maze Middle School.
The rodeo’s board is asking for a donation of two more saddles as prizes for the 2003 rodeo, which will be held Aug. 23-24 at Bolado Park. The board also seeks more volunteers to help organize and run the rodeo. To volunteer or donate prizes, call Jaynie Little at 637-8352.
