A program that has helped countless children unshackle
themselves from poverty and move on to success could vanish without
the help of Morgan Hill residents.
Morgan Hill – A program that has helped countless children unshackle themselves from poverty and move on to success could vanish without the help of Morgan Hill residents.
In its 20 years of existence, the El Toro Youth Center has done far more than offer ways to keep kids off the street after school and during summer.
“Perhaps El Toro’s most valuable aspect is not so much its tangible one-on-one homework assistance or computer usage opportunities for students but its ability to provide individuals with something much greater and everlasting, and that’s the feeling of self-worth,” Isela Bañuelos wrote in a testimonial about the program.
The Sobrato High School senior is a case study in the benefits of the center, which is facing closure unless it can raise $40,000 by the end of the month. With the help of El Toro programs, Bañuelos overcame the language barriers to become class president, the 2007 Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce Student of the Year, and chair of the Youth Advisory Committee, to name a few of her accomplishments.
“No one can save the world in one day, but we can all start with local action,” Bañuelos wrote. “If we all do our part in supporting family centers like the El Toro Youth Center, imagine the opportunities that we would open for our future generations.”
This week, the community can do its part to help save the center by contributing to a fundraising campaign.
The center has been handed off from one organization to another over the years, and most recently has operated under the auspices of nonprofit Community Solutions. But after five years of providing financial and operational oversight, the agency announced it could no longer sustain the youth center after early September, according to Mayor Steve Tate, who has taken up the center’s cause and is leading the fundraising campaign to save the program.
Catholic Charities has agreed to take over operation of the facility, on condition that the first year of operational costs are covered. So far, Tate and other fundraisers have come up with $60,000 of the $100,000 goal. They hope to raise the rest in one last push this weekend, when youths will give tours and offer entertainment to residents at the youth center.
“It’s got so much benefit for those kids, for low-income families who would otherwise not have any care for their kids after-school, creating lots of opportunities for the kids to do the wrong kind of things,” Tate said. “It gives them the atmosphere to do the right kind of thing, to set goals and achieve their goals.”
Tate said the Kirk Kids Foundation in Morgan Hill has already stepped up with a $10,000 challenge grant, requiring fundraisers to come up with an equal amount either before or during the fundraiser. The event takes place 5-7pm Aug. 25 at the youth center, 17620 Crest Ave.
HELPING EL TORO
- Donations to help save the El Toro Youth Center can be sent in the form of checks to Catholic Charities, and mailed to El Toro Youth Center, 17620 Crest Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037.
