On Sunday, July 28, 2019 , the
Garlic Festival, the City of Gilroy, the families of victims
and all of us experienced an unbelievable horror. We will
probably never understand the anger that led a young man
to think that hurting people would justify the hurt he felt.
Aside from a few who misguidedly directed anger at this
young man, the community has come together in a way
that is truly remarkable. Actually it is downright extraordi-
nary. It shows a level of community, caring, compassion
and involvement that is “inspiring” according to Donna
Pray, Executive Director of the Gilroy Foundation.
Every day we hear stories of individuals, families,
groups, organizations, and businesses who stepped
up and helped. Volumes could be written about them.
We’d like to highlight a few of the many examples. We
refrained from including
names because this is
about the community not
the individuals. Our goal
is not to heap praise but to
celebrate a community that
is #GILROYSTRONG.
When the tragic incident
began, many people ran
away from what they
thought was the source
of the shooting—as they rightfully should—while others
ran towards the scene to help. Some were local police
officers who helped bring the tragic violence to a quick
ending. Others were regular citizens who cared for the
injured, transported folks to the hospital, and helped
others evacuate. Nurses immediately notified local hospital
facilities to be on alert while other medical personnel and
first responders did their job while ignoring the danger.
Contracted bus drivers and school bus drivers safely
evacuated hundreds of festival attendees. Local officials,
bystanders and first responders moved people to safe
areas, like the amphitheater, and established a perimeter
for fear of a second shooter.
Others courageously comforted panicked adults,
children, vendors and families. And still others transported
or took in strangers in the surrounding neighborhoods while
waiting for an all clear. These collective and individual acts
made a difference.
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
By 7:45 PM that night, two hours after the shooting, the
Silicon Valley Community Foundation was in touch with the
Gilroy Foundation to set up a victims’ fund. By 1:37 pm
the next day the Gilroy Foundation received its first PayPal
donation of $25. Since that time, the Gilroy Garlic Festival
Victims Relief Fund has received over $1.5 million and
continues to grow. Donations have come in all shapes
and sizes. The largest was an anonymous $250,000
donation; the smallest was $5 with a note that it was all
they could afford!
Corporations, associations, loosely-knit groups, families,
locals, Gilroy ex-pats and strangers all have contributed to
the cause.
Less than 24 hours after the event, ordinary citizens
organized a vigil where kids set up a lemonade stand
and raised over $3,600. A
national chain restaurant pledged
a percentage of sales to generate
over $11,000. A real estate
office gathered donations from
friends, relatives and clients
to generate over $57,000.
T-shirt shops donated stock and
labor to generate a variety of
#GilroyStrong t-shirts, hats and
bumper stickers. A group of
young teens used their own money to purchase beads and
supplies to produce GilroyStong bracelets. Another real
estate office set up letters to the families of Stephen, Kyla
and Trevor—three young people who tragically died from
gunshot wounds. People made badges, hats and wrist
bands. Folks organized vigils and memorials. Restaurants
and wineries hosted benefits. A local artist distributed 500
#GilroyStrong painted rocks around Gilroy. Bay Area
professional sports teams hosted events and collected
donations. The band that was performing near the scene
of the shooting set-up a donation station at their next
concert. A traveling out-of-state band waived their fees
to host an evening benefit at a local music venue. The
daughter of a bookkeeper offered to do a spreadsheet
categorizing the donations to the Gilroy Foundation. One
restaurant owner returned to his kitchen Sunday night and
made 50 pizzas for the first responders. One local spent a
FALL/HOLIDAY 2019
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