In Unity for Service
Exchange, inspiring communities to become better places to live.
The Exchange Club of Gilroy is a dedicated nonprofit community service organization serving our local community through various service and fundraising projects. We serve people in need, promote crime prevention, serve senior citizens, recognize military and public safety service providers. We promote Americanism programs, and our national project is the prevention of child abuse. The Exchange Club of Gilroy was established in 1990.
The Exchange Club of Gilroy is one of the nearly 600 clubs with more than 15,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico who sponsor a variety of activities to improve their communities. The first National Exchange Club was formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1911.
Exchange Club of Gilroy Key Projects
Each year the Exchange Club of Gilroy sponsors a number of events and projects in our area.
TGIF
Back to School
Back-to-school shopping for the children in our community is really a club favorite. We had two very successful shopping days with some additional add-ons. Hopefully, they are all having a great start to the school year.
Veterans Parade
The theme for Veterans Day 2023 is “Service.” Veterans are proud of their military service in defending our Nation. Honor reflects the military value and tradition of answering the call to duty. There is distinct honor in serving to protect our way of life and the Constitution of the United States of America.
Fundraiser
Join us for our Annual Wine Down Wednesday Fundraiser in helping our local community. This last year we raised $18,000 for our local charities. Stay tuned to our webpage for the Date/Time of our next event.
Vision: A strong America, safe communities, and unified people.
Mission: Exchange, inspiring communities to become better places to live.
Core Values: Family, Community, Country
Motto: Unity for Service
Our Current Monthly Events
Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion
We believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our clubs as we provide the resources and insight to better lead and serve each club. We strive to serve diverse communities large and small with integrity, competence, respect for human relationships, respect for the inherent dignity and worth of all people, and a commitment to promoting social justice. We can only meet these goals by caring about our best resources: our leadership, members, and volunteers.
Deciphering Exchange: Unraveling the Identity and Impact
In the 1940s, Exchange structured its club activities around seven key areas of service, encompassing education, agriculture, aviation, citizenship, commerce and industry, federal youth rehabilitation, as well as youth and geriatrics.
During the mid-1960s, Exchange embraced its national “Programs of Service,” which heightened attention on the prevailing societal challenges of that era. This framework allowed local clubs to tailor their initiatives to the unique needs of their respective communities.
Programs of Service
National Program
Americanism
Promoting pride in the country, respect for the flag, and appreciation of our freedoms are the primary purposes of Exchange’s Americanism programs.
The tumultuous struggles of world powers in the twentieth century have done little to guarantee a peaceful future for the majority of the world’s people. However, there’s one country in modern times that people flock to for safety, freedom, and opportunity — the United States of America.
It is hard for Americans to imagine the horrors of modern struggles over religious and ethnic differences, the very differences we embrace.
Community Service
Community service is the lifeline of Exchange. Exchange Clubs across the country spend countless hours and dollars improving their communities each year. In fact, many of the projects within the Program of Service have a common goal of serving and benefiting our communities. Then why a separate category called Community Service?
While the programs listed under Prevention of Child Abuse, Youth Recognition, and Americanism programs focus on specific areas, the Community Service Program is more broad in scope.
Youth Recognition
America’s young people are its most precious resource. This is why, for many years, Exchange has sponsored an impressive selection of activities designed to benefit and encourage our nation’s youth. Many of these richly rewarding programs are among the most popular and well-supported of all Exchange Club endeavors.
Prevention of Child Abuse
Child abuse and neglect hurts more than our children and families, it hurts our entire community.
The most immediate victims are children and families. Children suffer physical and emotional injuries, and parents suffer remorse and regret. A greater problem develops as the cycle of violence impacts the community. Childhood abuse is a significant predictor for juvenile delinquency, early pregnancy, substance abuse, mental health issues, and adult criminal activity.
The Prevention of Child Abuse became Exchange’s National Project in 1979, at the 61st National Convention