By David Kligman
MILPITAS — In 1995, San Jose third graders were playing at recess when they saw a drive-by shooting outside their school. The children were traumatized.
Brian Allen, a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose, heard about the shooting and wanted to help. So he organized a day of fishing for the students to create something positive to offset what they had seen.
PG&E's Kathy Lee is about to help Kate Ly, left, and Jakelin Cipriano fish at a lake in Santa Clara County. (Photos by David Kligman.)
“We thought, ‘Why not get these kids out of town?’” Allen recalled. “Why not take them fishing?”
The idea eventually caught on as many good ideas do. What was intended as a one-time event spread to 300 other rotary clubs across the country. And every year for nearly 20 years, the San Jose Rotary chapter has organized the same outing for three elementary schools in the city.
On Saturday (April 26), about 40 PG&E employee volunteers took part in the annual day of fishing for 165 third graders who were bused to picturesque Sandy Wool Lake at a park in Santa Clara County.
The children, along with teachers and parents, were led to a picnic bench where they received a take-home tackle box and a fishing rod. PG&E employees and members of the rotary were each paired with two children. They then found a spot along the river and spent several hours fishing. Afterward, they enjoyed a hot dog lunch.
Part of PG&E’s second Month of Service
For PG&E, the fishing excursion was one of more than 100 events where employees are volunteering this month from Eureka to Bakersfield.
The utility’s second Month of Service is an opportunity for employees to give back to the communities where they live and work, and activities have included everything from state park cleanups to working at food banks.
John Ryan of the Rotary Club of San Jose uses a net to scoop up a rainbow trout caught by third grader Yuriko Madrigal.
Carl Honaker, who oversaw this year’s fishing event for the Rotary Club, was grateful for PG&E’s support. He added that all the PG&E employee help meant fewer children per volunteer and a better one-on-one experience for the third graders.
“It’s huge,” he said. “We’re always scrambling for enough people to make this happen.”
The event actually began the week before as rotary members visited the children’s schools for classroom education. Children were taught watershed conservation and the basics of fishing, including casting and tying knots.
Finally the day had arrived. On an overcast morning following a rainy day, the children cast their lines into the lake stocked with rainbow trout. For most of the inner-city children, it was their first time fishing.
Boy Scout volunteers were ready with nets as children reeled in fish. After volunteers unhooked the fish, the children carried the trout to a station where they watched it being cleaned and stored in a re-sealable bag for them to take home along with a recipe for cooking the fish.
Third graders thrilled to catch fish
The children reeled in 92 fish. Those who caught a fish were full of pride as they realized their accomplishment.
“I caught a fish!” one child told her classmate.
Grace Albertson, an 8-year-old, explained step by step how she reeled in her trout.
A drive-by shooting near an elementary school nearly 20 years ago prompted the Rotary Club of San Jose to organize an annual day of fishing for children.
“I threw it out as far as I could and waited five minutes,” she said. “I knew there was a fish because the fishing pole was starting to bend. I had to do some serious tugging.”
PG&E volunteers came from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and included gas utility workers, call center employees and even Gregg Lemler, the utility’s vice president of electric transmission operations. PG&E’s government relations team has supported the event for the past three years.
PG&E’s Natalie Christensen works in Concord but lives in Milpitas. Although she has little fishing experience herself, she saw the event as a way to give back. Thanks to Month of Service events, PG&E employees have now donated more than 16,800 volunteer hours this year on their way to a goal of 50,000 hours for 2014.
“I believe in helping out in our local communities,” she said.
And, she said, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning far from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
“It’s a different world out here,” she said. “This is an opportunity to get back to nature and away from the technology.”
Email David Kligman at David.Kligman@pge.com.
