Barry Jolette - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...

Fundraiser to Keep ‘Danny G’ Dancing
As the stereo played the Frank Sinatra lyrics
“And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,” Danny
Giray touched his nose, a move students on stage
mimicked.
The children went on to wiggle, dance in pairs
and end with a dip and a smile.
Such moves are just a part of the two 30-minute
sessions students at John Gill Elementary School
in Redwood City spend with Giray, or Danny
G, as the kids call him. For 11 years, the dance
program has been part of John Gill. Because of
budget cuts, it’s now one of the few defined times
when students have access to physical education.
Parent donations and fundraising efforts have kept
the program in place. With further cuts hitting the
district, the program is once again in danger.
On Saturday, March 6, the Parent Teacher
Association hopes to raise most of the funds to
keep Danny G working with the children with
“Let ’em dance and sing,” a fundraiser to be held
at Domenico Wines in San Carlos. Last year, the
PTA was able to raise $50,000. This year’s goal is
$30,000. That would not fully fund the program.
In years past, the school was able to use site funds to
cover the rest of the cost, said Principal Amanda
Kemp. With the Redwood City School District
looking at up to $13.7 million in cuts, Kemp is
unsure such an allocation will be a reality next year.
“Any time with Danny is better than no time
at all,” Kemp said, noting that the program may
need to be scaled back in the fall.
Parents are working to save the program
through the fundraiser, the biggest one of the year.
The auction and dinner will be augmented by a
raffle-ticket fundraiser with $5 tickets for three
grand prizes, one of which includes four one-day
park-hopper passes to Disneyland. Organizers are
hoping to sell 1,000 tickets. They estimate the sale
is close.
It’s not just about dance. Kemp was quick to
point out the student benefits of working with
Giray. Not only do the units supplement academic
work, the kids learn confidence.
“You can tell my kids; there is not a timid bone
in one of their bodies,” she said.
With so many cuts out of the school’s hands,
holding on to the one program is a glimmer of
happiness the administration and parents hope to keep.
Younger children work with Giray two times
a week for 30 minutes, while older kids see him
once a week for an hour. On Tuesdays, children
file into the multipurpose room ready to play. The
smaller ones are visibly tired at the end of 30
minutes but end up exercising without really noticing
it. Giray works in crunches and sprints, but with
the music as a backdrop, the work goes unnoticed
by the little ones who happily follow his lead.
“I believe we’re building up self-esteem,” said
Giray, who has been working with the school for
11 years.
Building self-esteem is reinforced by mixing in
academic teaching. Giray leads the children in a
version of the ABCs that includes a slithering “I”
and a jumping “O.” But lessons get more in-depth,
like a movement work that recreates windmills,
originally choreographed a couple of years ago
and reworked by Giray because of student interest
in renewable energy.
Craig Guinasso has a son in kindergarten who
announced he would not do two things when he
started school: dance or sing. Guinasso and his wife
noticed a change of heart when their son started
moving around at home along with his younger sister.
The change was a result of access to Giray’s class.
Many students stay with dance because of
Giray, said Kemp, who noted he maintains the
students’ interest while advancing the difficulty.
“I’m hoping above all hopes to keep this
program intact,” she said.
Raffle tickets are $5 per ticket, five for $20,
12 for $40, or 30 for $100. Auction tickets are
$75. Tickets can be ordered and auction items
previewed at auction.johngillpta.org.
Editor’s note: This article appeared first in the Daily Journal
newspaper.
Danny Giray teaches dance moves to a group of students
at John Gill Elementary School in Redwood City.
Mayor Ira Is ‘Tapping’ Us to Be Code Enforcement Volunteers
Mayor Jeff Ira, seen here helping firefighter Justin
Velasquez during the annual Toy Drive, is encouraging
our community to help with code enforcement.
Redwood City is looking for a few good men —
and women.
Actually, the city is seeking anyone wanting to
help keep it clean and up to code as a volunteer
enforcement officer. The program is already under
way, having started in 2008, but the current shaky
economy, including Redwood City’s own bottom
line, sharpened the city’s desire to expand its
current roster.
“This is a great way for community members
to get involved and help supplement services that
otherwise would be delayed or deferred due to the
city’s budget problems,” said Mayor Jeff Ira.
Even if residents aren’t drawn to code
enforcement, Ira asks that they consider
volunteering in other ways, such as sports,
libraries and nonprofits.
“Everyone can and should do their part to help their
community during this tough economy,” Ira said.
Known as community preservation volunteers,
participants serve as “ambassadors” for Redwood
City’s Building and Inspection Division. The
program already has seven trained volunteers
who’ve collectively spent more than 500 hours
helping out. Now the city is looking for more.
Volunteers help enforcement staff with
community preservation projects, code enforcement
research and visual assessments. Once trained,
they ride along with Building and Inspection
Department staff members and help with specific
cases. The volunteers answer calls about abandoned
cars and cleanup of garbage and work with officers to
enforce sign ordinances. Other duties can include,
as needed, reports of graffiti and shopping carts
and preliminary investigations into non–health
and safety code violations.
Code enforcement isn’t the only place the
city uses volunteers directly for its benefit. The
downtown Volunteers in Policing program trains
people to give the police department extra eyes
and ears during events.
Both programs let volunteers take up tasks that
in turn free up precious staff time that can be
used elsewhere. While helpful, there are limits.
“Any financial savings are small and we can’t
have volunteers doing skilled labor type of work,”
said city spokesman Malcolm Smith.
Rather, Ira, in his recent State of the City
address, urged community members to serve
themselves by finding their passion and getting
involved in whatever is “tapping them on the
shoulder,” Smith said.
As a result, community will be built on a block,
a neighborhood or a larger scale, Smith said.
For more information or to sign up as a
community preservation volunteer, contact Michel
Wayne at 650-780-7357 or mwayne@redwoodcity.
org. Information on other opportunities to get
involved can be found at www.redwoodcity.org/
residents/communityopportunities.html.
The Spectrum 31