These clinics initially came about because former City Council Member Larry Carr, who works for Safeway/Albertsons Companies, wanted to help get teachers vaccinated to help get our schools open as well as serve the food service and agricultural worker sectors. Larry reached out to MHUSD Superintendent (and member of our club) Steve Betando to form a partnership between the School District and Albertsons Companies. The key benefit to this relationship was that the Albertsons Companies get their vaccine supply directly from the federal government. The original plan was to have 4 days of clinics at Sobrato.

 

The effort needed volunteers to help manage the vaccination clinic site, so Steve contacted Service Projects Director, John McKay. John recruited members of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill to participate. John coordinated the volunteer schedule and Steve managed the Sobrato site creating a efficient and kind environment for volunteers and vaccination recipients alike. The volunteer effort was so effective that the Albertsons staff agreed to additional clinics and requested us to continue helping at these clinics. Rotarians responded by volunteering over and over again and bringing family and friends to help manage the vaccination site(s). When the second location at the Community and Cultural Center was added, John recruited other Rotarians to act as site manager for each day using the model that Steve created for as well as lessons learned during the Sobrato clinics. John McKay, Ken Tak, Mario Banuelos, Roger Knopf, Theresa Kiernan, and Victoria Battison have served as daily site managers. We are also partnering with members of the Morgan Hill Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) who are providing additional volunteers at the Community and Cultural Center site.

 

As of April 11, 18 clinics have been held, providing over 6500 vaccination doses with at least 3000 of those doses given to Morgan Hill residents and there are 16 more clinics scheduled in the coming weeks. If you would like to volunteer or are interested in sponsoring lunches for the early shift volunteers, please contact John McKay.

 

Thanks to all who have volunteered or sponsored a lunch!

 

This effort was covered in a Morgan Hill Times article on March 31st.

 

The Rotary Club of Morgan Hill is excited to honor those that will play a pivotal role in creating a better life for our community through skilled labor.  Skilled labor refers to workers who perform hands-on work and possess abilities, training and safety-minded expertise within their industry. They bring proven experience and knowledge to job sites and construction businesses. People engaged in the “Trades” make a lasting and meaningful impact on society. They create homes for our families, structures for our profession, and transform the ordinary into the magical. The Rotary Club of Morgan Hill is honored to create a program to assist members of the community in their endeavor to be a part of this critical profession.

 

The importance of skilled labor cannot be overstated; we are experiencing a crumbling infrastructure, a disappearance of vocational education in our public schools, and an ever-widening skills gap. At times, members of this skilled labor community demonstrate not only their importance but represent the Trades as a whole being a necessary component of our lives.

One such person was Darren Dean, a local Morgan Hill painting contractor that bridged the gaps between his profession, community service, and community leader. Darren was an entrepreneur who ran a successful business and managed to figure out just the right work-life balance; in his far too short of a life, he touched so many in Morgan Hill. Darren served as a mentor to many around him, providing opportunities for change in their life, and the lives of those around them.