In Our Valley...

Have you ever come up with an idea you thought would be so helpful you just wanted to call everyone and tell them right away? You can feel it in your bones that it could really make a difference if enough people participated? Well, that is how I feel about a new project we are taking on.

I would like to get a long, long list of businesses that offer to donate a portion of their receipts to our local schools and non-profit organizations. Or businesses that have a product they can offer at a discount to a group so they can sell it for a little more and make a profit. I hear DeBrito Chocolate in Hollister does that with their candy apples. I’m sure there are lots of businesses that could do this. Then we could put that money into local business pockets instead of giving it to some catalog company or another manufacturer of buckets of cookie dough. I like the idea so much that we are already starting to compile a list. I am hoping you, local business owner and local non-profit group, will jump on board. For more information on this project please take the time to read our fundraising feature. Then give me a call, let’s see what we can do together to help us all get through budget cuts and a downward economy.

As long as I am going on about things I am passionate about, I have to tell you how exciting it is to see the weekly changes going on at the interim center for the arts in Gilroy. The way people are coming together, volunteering their time and donating goods to make this art center a reality is just amazing. If you have time on August 7, drop in and take a look at the progress so far. There will be an art exhibit reception from 10am to 5:30pm. The center is a work in progress and it really is inspiring to see what a community can do when they pull together when funding is tough.

We at Out & About hope you are enjoying these last few weeks of summer vacation. The sun finally decided to come out and tan our bodies and make our tomatoes grow. Now it’s up to us to enjoy it while we can. See you poolside.

Sylvia Myvold