Mike Luevano :
Sharing the
Gilroy Spirit
No matter how simple a kind gesture is , you never forget the way it made you feel . It ’ s something longtime Gilroy resident and former Executive Director of Leadership Gilroy Mike Luevano knows all too well . He has been paying it forward his whole life through his love of philanthropy and sports .
Luevano naturally liked to help others even before he knew what philanthropy was , but he credits a few early life experiences to making it a lifelong pursuit . “ I kind of had a troubled childhood . I could have gone a whole different way at one point , but I had good people around me ,” he explained . Both his father and the older kids in his neighborhood got Luevano into sports and he immediately loved the camaraderie and teamwork that sports provided . Over the years , he kept being drawn to coaching figures and positions that involved helping the youth the way people had helped him when he was young .
When he was 21 , Luevano began working for Rebekah Children ’ s Services ( RCS ) as a counselor for the senior boys and older teens who lived on the grounds at the time . He could see a lot of himself in the boys there , and that allowed him to relate to what they were going through and help them . At the same time , Luevano also forged strong bonds with his fellow counselors at RCS , many of which are still his best friends to this day . Together , they gave the kids a sense of normalcy by playing basketball with them and taking them to their own games .
Looking back on it now , Luevano realizes that he was still a kid himself when he was counseling at RCS , but those early days changed him in a profound way . “ I say it all the time . I ’ m the dad , the friend , and the person I am from my time working there in my young twenties . I got to see how consistency worked and I got to give options and opportunities that some of these kids weren ’ t getting at home . And having everyone on the same page on the staff side really meant a lot ,” he said .
68 WINTER 2024 gmhTODAY Magazine : Go . Make history ... gmhtoday . com