Published in the August 20 – September 3, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Morgan Hill is exceptional as a city because so many of our citizens are active in leadership and volunteering roles that add significantly to our quality of life. And two organizations that encourage this quality are the Morgan Hill Community Foundation and Leadership Morgan Hill.
The MHCF is accepting applications until Sept. 12 to honor exceptional volunteers who give their time and talent at local nonprofit organizations. These people will be honored at the ninth annual Philanthropy Celebration gala that will be held Nov. 14 at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. And the group Leadership Morgan Hill has just started taking applications for its class of 2015, which starts in January.
The MHCF is a philanthropic organization that connects donors with local needs for a long-lasting, effective impact on our community. Its geographical reach focuses on the greater Morgan Hill region as defined by the Morgan Hill Unified School District boundaries. It is a member of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 50-year-old institution with assets of about $5 billion and more than 1,650 philanthropic funds. This organization gives more money to charities than any other community foundation in the United States.
The MHCF has awarded more than $500,000 since its 2002 inception. Every spring, it offers grant awards to worthy causes in the South Valley region that total about $5,000. It focuses on six funding areas: arts and culture, recreation, education and lifelong learning, health and human services, science and technology, and the environment and agriculture.
Leadership Morgan Hill, like the MHCF, is an organization that attracts many of the people who want to give of their time and energy to protect and enhance the quality of life in Morgan Hill and the local South Valley region. This training and development program was created in 1995 to inspire future leaders to community service. Morgan Hill’s organization is similar in concept to leadership programs in place in 56 other California communities. The nine-month leadership program is designed to provide participants with in-depth knowledge of the local political, economic and government structures of our community.
Hundreds of local residents have gone through the program and have become more involved as high-quality leaders in civic, religious, social, athletic, nonprofit and professional organizations in the community. Tuition for the next class is $1,200 (plus a $25 processing fee) and can be paid by any club, organization, business, employer or the participant. Tuition assistance is available upon request and approval.
Local leadership development and volunteering is an essential element in making sure that Morgan Hill has people in its governments, organizations and businesses who can make a difference in building our community. Training through organizations like Leadership Morgan can provide the tools, knowledge and ability to impact and inspire to achieve a common vision.
We encourage you to submit an application to the MHCF to shine a spotlight at the Philanthropy Celebration on someone who has stepped up and given of their time, talent or treasure. And we encourage you to consider joining the 2015 Leadership Morgan Hill class and build the skills needed to enhance our city and region.
