There’s no guarantee that the annual lobbying trip that San Joaquin County elected officials and non-profit representatives take to Washington, D.C,. is going yield anything of major substance by the time the lobbying trip ends.
But Monday afternoon, Congressman Jerry McNerney – who represents California’s 11th Congressional District – was happy to welcome dozens of local dignitaries to Sequoia Elementary School where he unveiled a $476,000 check that will help provide a much needed influx into the operation budget of one of the community’s most respected and effective non-profits.
“This is a program that is great for this community, and it’s very important for me to see this happen,” McNerney said of Give Every Child a Chance. “I’m very impressed with this program provides to the community, and how much this community cares about their kids enough to make this as successful as it is.”
Manteca Vice Mayor Steve DeBrum also had kind words for McNerney – who periodically stops in at GECAC sites to volunteer his time as tutor in his expert area of math.
Superintendent Jason Messer – who also noted that Ripon Unified Superintendent Louise Nan would soon be on board with the program – thanked McNerney as well, and told him that efforts are underway to branch the program out into other cities like Stockton and Tracy in the coming months.
“Thank you for all of your efforts to Give Every Child a Chance in this community,” DeBrum said. “We appreciate everything that you’ve done and that you continue to do to make this program as successful as it is.”
So far this year the program has helped 3,362 students improve their grades – completely free of charge in the spirit of the program that pioneering founder Antone Raymus made his passion getting off the ground shortly before his death.
“I know you’re a tremendous supporter of Give Every Child a Chance,” Messer said to McNerney. “There isn’t a whole lot of money to waste these days, and we need to spend it on the best programs – and surely GECAC is one of those programs.”
To contact Jason Campbell, e-mail jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3544.
