The South Bay Alliance wishes to thank each and every person who
helped to make this year’s ChildSpree program a success. Yes, small
towns are great!
EDITOR:
The South Bay Alliance wishes to thank each and every person who helped to make this year’s ChildSpree program a success. Yes, small towns are great!
ChildSpree turned out to be South Bay Alliance’s inaugural event, and we are extremely grateful to the Morgan Hill community for its generous support of the program. The past few years ChildSpree was headed heart and soul by the late Ken Tougas. Children and projects that help children were near and dear to him. While many of us have worked side by side with Ken in the past, it was difficult without his presence this year.
One of the nicest things that has occurred during the first half of this year, from Ken’s diagnosis, his passing and all the way through to the ChildSpree event has been the overwhelming love and support that has flowed from the community. Everyone knew Ken did a lot for all of us, but as each day passes, more and more people realize the loss this community has had with his passing, and they step up to the plate to help fill the void.
From the Candlelight Support Vigil to the culmination of the ChildSpree event, members of this community from all walks of life have come forward and absolutely shone in their efforts. One of Ken’s dreams was to see “everyone working together, there’s too many factions.” A collective pat on the back goes out to each and every person who contributed, money, time, facilities and manpower to make the ChildSpree event and other many other efforts happen in the past few months where Ken was missed. Together we’re making dreams come true.
For example, at the ChildSpree event we had community members from the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions from Morgan Hill and San Martin, City of Morgan Hill employees, members from First Baptist, the Fire Dept., Abbott Laboratories, Target, El Toro Youth Center, our family and friends, and many people from the community at large who answered the call for shoppers for the children in news articles they read in this very newspaper. From big businesses to small businesses, church to individuals, city to club members, all came together to work on a common goal; to make a difference in the life of a child.
What our volunteers don’t necessarily realize is their donation of time impacts so many more people, like the families of the children they assisted, and the camaraderie that was shared with others in attendance. We had volunteers thanking us, children thanking us, parents thanking us, but it is us, who should be thanking you. We just put out the call, you all made it happen.
While space will not allow us to publicly acknowledge every single person who contributed there are a few that we must recognize. First, is Ken Tougas who approached Dana Lee at Mervyn’s a few years ago and started this effort.
Next, is Dana Lee who gives generously of her time and energy and her staff each year. Lori Escobar from El Toro helped us secure the program this year, and was very generous with her time and staff to pull all the pieces together; and then there is Jesse Nazel.
Jesse (owner of Betsy’s Restaurant) doesn’t want any publicity, but Jesse was the one piece of the puzzle that made our two largest fundraising events possible. Jesse, his staff and their customers are to be highly commended for their overwhelming dedication to ChildSpree. Thank you also to The Times for the coverage of the program and for helping us to solicit donations from the community.
We wish everyone could have seen the smiling faces of all who were involved, and experienced the gratitude of the parents whose children received the shopping spree, and the hugs and smiles of the children themselves. The littlest ones especially seemed so proud of their goodies and couldn’t wait to show their families what they had picked out “all by myself.”
Lastly, but most important of all to remember is the children. We hope the children will start off this school year full of hopes and dreams, and find it within themselves to fulfill those dreams. They have a wonderful community behind them to help them succeed. Thank you to all the folks who do make Morgan Hill, a great small town.
Gina Six and others in
the South Bay Alliance Gang,
Morgan Hill
