Morgan Hill Rotary awards more than $25k in local grants

Representatives from 29 local organizations lined up under the spotlight at the Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center Feb. 19 to receive more than $25,000 in grants from the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill.

Consisting of groups dedicated to benefiting the greater Morgan Hill community, the cohort of organizations support a wide variety of interests, including education, mental health care and animal rescue.

“This is a really special day for all of us,” said Sherry Hemingway, a member of Rotary’s grants committee. “We do a lot of fundraising to raise money, but it’s really fun to give it away. This is about the charitable needs of our community and the people who fulfill those needs.”

These grants are only a part of Rotary’s annual charitable programs. Later this year, they will also award an additional $26,000 in scholarships to local high school seniors, as well as $10,000 in grants to young people pursuing a career in the trades.

“We ask organizations from throughout Morgan Hill to apply for grants for their projects and programs that benefit the community here,” Hemingway said. “As always, the needs and numbers of requests are overwhelming, especially this year.”

The club received a record-breaking 80 grant requests this year, with a total need of $167,000. Though the group’s budget is normally only $20,000, they were able to secure approval for an additional $6,000 from their Board of Directors to help meet as much of the need as possible.

“We would have liked to have provided more grants, or fully funded some of the grants that we got,” said Rotarian David Allen. “Unfortunately, budgets are budgets, and we did the best we could.”

One of the grant beneficiaries was Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, which provides support to children living with cancer—either themselves or a loved one afflicted—as well as those who have recently endured a loss to the disease.

“With the grant we received, we were able to have our team program a cook with Rebecca’s Children Services during the Christmas season,” said Allyssa Gil-Ojeda, outreach coordinator with Jacob’s Heart. “This really did help these teens come together and create magical memories during the Christmas season. They made Christmas food and they got to taste things they wouldn’t normally get, and we can’t thank you enough for this grant opportunity.”

Alma Bonita Animal Rescue, an organization that houses farm animals rescued from neglectful and vulnerable situations, also received funding from the Rotary grants.

“With this donation we are able to purchase materials for two overhangs, which translates directly into protecting our vulnerable animals from harsh weather such as atmospheric rivers as well as the summer heat,” said Sheila Murphy, representing the 501(c)(3). “This last week, we recorded more than six inches of rain up where we are located. Because of the new overhangs, our goats were able to keep dry without having to be stuck inside the entire day.”

Other organizations which received grants included All Animal Rescue & Friends, Catalyst Family, Inc., Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, Community Solutions, EAH Housing, the Edward Boss Prado Foundation, the El Toro Health Science Academy, the Friends of the MH Steve Tate Library, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, and many more. 

A complete list of the beneficiaries can be found at the Morgan Hill Rotary Club’s website, https://www.morganhillrotary.org/about-us.

“You can see how many worthy nonprofit organizations with which our community is blessed,” Hemingway said. “We gave them everything we had, but almost none of these organizations received the full amount they needed. In choosing these recipients, we also had to leave behind dozens of other worthy requests. The needs throughout this community are increasing, so thank you Rotary Club of Morgan Hill for doing what you do.”

The club raises the majority of its funds for these and other grants through its annual events, including its recent Lobsterfest fundraising dinner, in addition to regular contributions from the club’s membership. 

The organization’s next grant cycle will begin accepting applications on July 1 for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

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