Thursday, October 21, 2021

VNA offers free monthly grief support group to help South County residents create ‘New Beginnings’

  Grieving is a natural part of life, and impacts each individual journey physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

Gonzales, CA, October 21, 2021 — Grieving is a natural part of life, and impacts each individual journey physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

While every loss is unique, VNA & Hospice Grief and Loss Program offers a free monthly support group in South County called New Beginnings that is designed to help participants share, bond and commiserate.  


The program — funded in part by Hospice Giving Foundation, and in partnership with Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center — offers a non-judgmental, fully confidential and supportive environment to share feelings of pain and loss. Individual support is also available, and great efforts are made to reach out to the South County bilingual community. 

The no-cost support group is offered to older adults who have experienced a significant loss of someone in their life. The purpose is to learn about the grieving process and share experiences that help with the emotion of isolation. 

The group meets every third Thursday of the month from 4-5 p.m. at the Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center (850 5th St.,Gonzales), a part of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. 

For more information, contact VNA’s Latino Community Outreach Coordinator Elsa M. Malispina, or Spiritual Care Coordinator Osa Massen at (831) 241-3834. 


Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
The Buzz PR LLC
Salinas, CA
831-747-7455
marci@thebuzzpr.net
https://ccvna.com/

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

GBA’s November ‘Ganas’ guests include Stanford star Haley Jones, who led Cardinal to NCAA championship

  Podcast Episodes Available on Apple. 

Salinas, CA, October 20, 2021 — A rising superstar in our midst, Haley Jones has enjoyed quite a career on the basketball court. And she’s only beginning. The Santa Cruz native who led Stanford to the NCAA championship earlier this year will be the featured guest on “Ganas — Leading from the Heart” podcasts for November. 

Designed to inspire today’s youth through unique views and perspectives on life, “Ganas” (which translates to “desire”) is recorded live from the family garage of Jose Gil and Eva Silva, co-founders of Gil Basketball Academy that promotes the sport of basketball in East Salinas through camps, clinics, individual sessions and elite travel teams. But more than that, GBA builds confidence and character in a membership that exceeds 450 local kids ages 4 to 17. 

The “Ganas” podcast officially launched on Sept. 14, 2020, with past episodes available on Apple, or through the GBA website at www.gilbasketballacademy.com. 

On Nov. 1, the podcast welcomes Jones, a highly recruited talent who starred for Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. The Santa Cruz native was rated the No. 1 player in the country according to both ESPN HoopGurlz and Prospects Nation, and ended up leading the Cardinal to glory as the Final Four MVP. 

On Nov. 15 the guest is former NBA player Tony Farmer, who played professionally in the U.S., France, Italy, Russia and Puerto Rico, and is now a noted entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. 

Finally, the month rounds out on Nov. 29 with guest Jesse Pruitt, the Stanford men’s basketball team assistant coach who this year begins his sixth season on The Farm. 

The idea for a podcast grew from Gil’s growing frustration in not being able to completely connect with and inspire his GBA kids during the pandemic. 

“You have to think outside the box,” said the longtime coach and athletic director at Alisal High School. “I was used to having hundreds of kids together at one time, and now I have to figure out new ways to have an impact.” 

While the couple have little experience in media (and none in podcasting), they invested in the technology needed to turn the family garage into a functioning studio. 

“Ganas” podcasts (including video with guests appearing via Zoom) span 30 to 45 minutes, and include topics such as sports, health, fitness, leadership, community and more.

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain
The Buzz PR LLC
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 747-7455
http://www.gilbasketballacademy.com/

Monday, October 18, 2021

Gil Basketball Academy to Celebrate ‘Court Heroes’ at Awards Banquet Set for March 19, 2022

  Sponsorships Now Available to Support Gala Event and Its Cause. 

Salinas, CA, October 18, 2021 — Gil Basketball Academy (GBA) will present its Court Heroes 12th Anniversary Awards Banquet on March 19, 2022, in Salinas. Sponsorships are now available to support this gala event and its cause. 

The Court Heroes Award is given to someone who is heroic, exceptional, respectful and outstanding and in the community. This event includes a live band and DJ, no-host bar, dinner, dancing and silent auction, with prizes ranging from a paint night with Coach Jose Gil to getaway trips, tickets to Disneyland, and much more. 

The awards banquet will be held from 5:30 - 11 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Salinas PAL Center, 100 Howard St., Salinas. Tickets, $65 general and $55 for GBA parents, are available at https://gbacelebratingourheros2022.eventbrite.com . For further information, please contact Coach Gil at 831-710-1499. 

Sponsorship packages are available at a variety of levels, starting with the Presenting Sponsor at $10,000;  $5,000 Gold Sponsor, $2,500 Silver Sponsor, $2,000 Bronze Sponsor;  $1,000 Donor and $500 Sponsor. 

All sponsorship levels includes seating for you and your guests, ad in the event program and other amenities, depending on the level of sponsorship. For example, the Presenting Sponsor will receive three tables of 10/VIP seating, special recognition at event and sign on table with company name, full-page (8.5-inch-by-11-inch) ad in event program, signage throughout the eventand recognition in all printed materials and advertising. The basic level, $500, receives a table for fourand a half-page ad in the event program. 

Ads are also available separately in the event program, starting at $500 for a half-page ad (8.5-inch-by-5-inch). For more information on advertising, contact Marci Bracco Cain at marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com  by Jan. 4, 2022, so that your company can be included in the materials as soon as possible. 

About Gil Basketball Academy

The Gil Basketball Academy was formed to promote the sport of basketball in East Salinas, as well as the overall development of local student-athletes desiring to compete at the highest athletic levels of competition. GBA offers camps, clinics, and individual sessions teaching athletes the skills and techniques of shooting, passing, dribbling, rebounding, and defense. The athletes will be coached by Jose Gil and other qualified and experienced coaches. GBA is about teaching not only basketball, but this academy will build confidence and character in all GBA members while having fun. 

The vision of the Gil Basketball Academy was born out of the belief that one of the most effective ways to strengthen a community is for its youth to be surrounded by positive adult role models, positive peer influences, and immersed in meaningful and constructive activities. As such, GBA’s mission is to support the youth of Salinas “Shoot for and Reach” their positive goals by participating in organized basketball camps, clinics, college tours, motivational speaker forums, field trips and trips beyond Salinas. 

GBA’s objective is to target boys and girls as young as 4 all the way to 17 years of age. GBA aims to “hook” kids beginning at a young age and sustain them throughout their schooling years. We also hope to combat obesity and diabetes by providing organized physical activities and promoting healthy eating habits.  At the present time, there are over 450 kids in our academy! 

Using Project Cornerstone’s research-based developmental assets approach as a guiding framework, we also hope to help our youth build the developmental internal and external assets they need in order to grow up to be caring, competent, responsible, and resilient.  The educational component of GBA is what our youth needs at this present time of turmoil.  We truly believe that this year’s homicides in Salinas could have been prevented if a program like ours was in their lives and someone showed them that the community cares about them. 

One of the primary goals is indeed to teach youth about every facet of the game of basketball. The larger goal of GBA is to teach our youth how to become healthy, productive, and contributing citizens of their community by exposing them to life beyond Salinas by offering our World Tours. 

Gil Basketball Academy1522

 Constitution Blvd., Suite 213,

Salinas, CA

(831) 710-1499

www.gilbasketballacademy.com


Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
The Buzz PR LLC
Salinas, CA 93901
(831) 747-7455
http://www.gilbasketballacademy.com