Hollister
– Tonight’s the night for San Benito County Youth Services’
biggest fundraising event of the year, designed to spotlight locals
who go the extra mile for the community’s youngsters and bolster
the grant funds available to local children’s programs.
Hollister – Tonight’s the night for San Benito County Youth Services’ biggest fundraising event of the year, designed to spotlight locals who go the extra mile for the community’s youngsters and bolster the grant funds available to local children’s programs.
“We want to recognize youth who are doing good things and individuals who have shown a commitment to youth,” said Mark Steele, president of SBC Youth Services.
The “Ridgemark Rumble,” as organizers have dubbed the event, is a celebration of SBC Youth Services’ first 10 years in the community. Proceeds from the event are shared between Youth Services and the Ridgemark Women’s Golf Club, who are co-sponsoring the evening. Youth Services proceeds contribute to a fund which is used to dole out grant awards to local nonprofits later in the year, and the Women’s Golf Club uses the money to support the Girls’ Golf program at San Benito High School.
“All of the money we raise goes right back into the community,” Steele said.
This will be the first year SBC Youth Services will be presenting awards for local youths and adults who have demonstrated an above-and-beyond commitment to Hollister’s children. SBHS freshman Theresa Copeland will be receiving the “Youth of the Year” Award. As a junior high student she wrote up and circulated a petition demanding that the city invest in a homeless shelter. She also organized fellow students to collect canned foods, blankets, towels and toiletries for shelter inhabitants.
The event will also showcase the work of 10-year-old Nicolette Perazzo, who started “Angel Babies” with her friends and mother Diana. Perazzo and her friends collect dolls, clean them up and sew blankets for them. The made-over dolls are then donated to local children in distress, for example those at Emmaus House or local labor camps.
“We’ll actually be auctioning off some of her dolls, and the money will go to help her make more for children in need,” Steele said.
Over the summer, it was decided that Marley Holte, an SBC Youth Services Board Member, would receive the Lifetime Commitment to Youth Award for decades of service on behalf of local children. Sadly, Holte passed away in September at the age of 80, and the award will be given posthumously. Holte’s son Dan will accept the award on his father’s behalf.
“Marley was a tremendous person,” Steele said. “We’re actually naming the award after him, so in the future it will be the Marley Holte Commitment to Youth Award.”
The “Rumble” part of the evening refers to a golf ball drop – participants purchase golf balls for $2, and the one that lands nearest the first hole on the course wins a trip to Mexico. Congressman Sam Farr will speak, and dinner and music will be offered.
Tickets will be available throughout the rest of the day and at the door. For more information call 784-4412.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
