E
dith Edde is an associate member
of GALs, having been a part of the
group since the beginning. She
relocated to Gilroy in 1957 from Southern
California, where she was an associate
member of an Assistance League chapter.
At that time, she joined a group known
of as the Children’s Home Society that
was comprised of 15 women who helped
mothers who were in need of support as
they went through pregnancies, natal care
and adoption procedures. But the need for
their efforts changed over time and their
direction broadened to supporting groups
with youth-oriented causes. Edde held
various offices in the organization over
the years, including president. She has
remained an associate member for the past
25 years. Now “retired” from GALs, she
said, “I still attend the same things that
they do. It’s still a good group of women.”
GALs depicts a balance of dedication
and comradery. “Everyone is very active,”
Edde said. “It’s a fun group but it does
take time. And in the 50 years I worked
on it, I saw lots of people with lots of
talent who were willing to give of their
talents to help children in this area.”
Donna Pray, who refers to herself as
“the most senior active member,” echoes
the sentiment of hard work and kinship
she has found at GALs. Pray grew up in
Menlo Park when it had a small town feel,
similar to Gilroy. She wanted her children
to have that same experience—to be able
to ride their bikes in the street like she
did. So she and her husband moved to
Gilroy in 1977 where they raised their
four children. After moving, she got into
volunteerism because she didn’t know
anyone. “I went to my children’s school.
Before I knew it, I was the PTA president.
I was lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-
mom during my children’s school years.”
Pray became involved in the Gilroy
Foundation, a nonprofit that awards
scholarships and provides grants to other
nonprofits, in 1988 when she founded
the Day in the Country fundraiser for the
Foundation with Patty Filice.
Then in 1992, Pray was nominated
by another member to join GAL. “I was
very excited because I am a champion of
youth-oriented needs and that is just
what this group works for!”
GAL grants do not necessarily need to
go to non-profits, according to Pray. “In
the 1990s, a group of moms who lived in
an apartment house asked for money to
plant a garden and grow vegetables and
fruit—they asked for $350 for seedlings.
It can be a small group that’s just doing
something good with their kids.”
However, GALs members have different
priorities and ideas when voting on grants.
“When I vote,” Pray said, “I try to reach
as many people as I can. I try to give to a
group that’s going to make an impact to
50 kids. Sometimes they are larger
organizations.”
A grant committee, led by grant chair
Gina Anderson, reads all the applications;
then all 35 members go online, read the
applications and vote through a rating
system. The top six or seven ranked
applicants typically receive grant funds.
“We vote privately,” Pray explained.
“But if you have your heart set on some-
thing, you lobby for things and talk it up:
‘I’ll vote for your thing, but I want you to
vote for this.’ So, that’s lots of fun.”
“The recipients are varied,” Pray said.
“They include art programs or anything
a kid would be interested in.” The City
of Gilroy reading program, Community
Solutions, and St. Joseph’s Family Center
have been consistent recipients of GALs
grants over the years. Other grant
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recipients include the City of Gilroy
Adaptive Recreation Program (formerly
Special Olympics) and Gilroy Future
Farmers of America.
Another special recipient is Unspoken
Works—one mother’s vision, originated
to demonstrate to her own children how
well-off they are compared to other kids.
This volunteer group stuffs backpacks
annually with school supplies, deodorant,
and feminine needs. GAL has donated
$2000 for the past two years. “It’s nice to
do extra things for kids,” Pray said. “But
when you don’t have the basics, it makes
us feel extra good to satisfy the basics.”
Unfortunately, GALs can’t meet
the needs of all the grant applicants.
According to Pray, “Last year, requests
were just over $72,000, and we were
only able to award $21,000.” But over
the last 10 years, GAL has awarded
some $144,589 in grants. Every year at
Christmas, GALs adopts and buys gifts
for a few families in Gilroy.
With only 35 members at a time, GALs
works hard to raise funds to support the
grants they fund. The Home and Garden
Tour has been the major fundraiser since
2006. “Committees meet all year-round
to put it on,” Pray said. “First, we have to
procure a home, not necessarily a castle or
a palace-type home. But people love big
homes in the forests, too.”
Pray explained, “We get a referral
for a home, then we look at a home,
occasionally stage it, work with florists
who do this for exposure and leave the
arrangements with the homeowner at
the end.” She added, “Owners use this as
an excuse to finish long-put off projects,
wallpaper or renovation. We leave the
home—including the first day—to look
like we were never there. And we are very
careful with that. I think showing respect
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