KAYLA SERRANO
Never too
young to
make a
difference
Written By
Kelly Barbazette
A
love of service and inspiration from
a teacher motivated 16-year-old
Kayla Serrano to apply for a grant
earlier this year to feed homeless people
in Gilroy.
She applied for the grant through the
Gilroy Assistance League in February,
asking for $2,000 to pay for the makings
for 200 burritos and kits containing
hygiene items.
“I was so taken aback that an
organization such as GALs would help
someone as young as me,” Serrano said.
Serrano shopped for all the items with
her grandmother. Then with the help of her
grandmother and a family friend, made the
burritos at home in a single day in August.
They delivered them to the Lord’s Table
that evening where they were handed
out to guests.
“The people that we gave them to
seemed so grateful,” she said.
Her grandmother, Rosemary Carranza,
a case worker at St. Joseph’s Family
Center, distributed another fifty burritos to
people living in low-income neighborhoods
in Gilroy.
Serrano also assembled 200 hygiene
kits and while driving around town the last
few months, she handed out all of them.
She distributed the last of the kits
in October.
“My family was great. They all pitched
in and helped where they could. It was
really nice to see a community of people
supporting me,” she said.
A junior at Christopher High School,
Serrano said helping homeless people
has been on her heart all of her life through
watching her grandmother, who passed that
commitment to service to Serrano’s mom, Jina.
“When we saw someone that needed a
sweater or food, my mom would be the first
one to pitch in and help out and encourage
us to do the same,” Serrano said.
When Serrano learned of the opportunity
to apply for a grant from GALs, she was
reminded of the kindness of her English
teacher, Mrs. Grant, who Serrano said would
give a student her lunch if they forgot to bring
one. Mrs. Grant’s mom, Elizabeth Kemp,
passed away in 2016. Mrs. Kemp started
the Brown Baggers program in Sonoma,
which helped feed vineyard workers, labor-
ers and anyone who needed a meal. Now,
the program is part of Sonoma Overnight
Support, co-founded by Mrs. Kemp, which
helps feed and clothe homeless people.
Serrano said that seeing the program
operating first-hand and how it was helping
others greatly impacted her.
“I saw what a beautiful thing it was to
help someone at the lowest point of their lives
when they’re not doing well,” she said. The
experience of carrying out her idea to help
homeless people has inspired Serrano to start
a non-profit group after she turns 18.
“I saw a year-round homeless shelter in
Sonoma. We don’t have that here. I really,
really want that,” she said. “I think that
more than food, more than shampoo and
conditioner, people want to feel loved and
that someone cares about them… I think that
someone being there full time and have a
shoulder to lean on would make a world of
a difference for a lot of people.”
The Gilroy Assistance League awarded nearly $26,000 to fifteen local youth
organizations in 2018. Proceeds from the GALs Annual Impressions Home and
Garden Tour & Boutique provides funds for the grants. For more information,
regarding the grant process, visit www.gilroyassistanceleague.org
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
december 2018-january 2019
gmhtoday.com
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