Friends of Human Relations is delighted to announce the 2010 Jim McEntee Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship of $1000 will be awarded to one student moving from a local community college to a four year institution. For more information, read the Jim McEntee Memorial Scholarship Fact Sheet. by clicking mcenteescholarshipfacts2010 To apply, download the 2010 scholarship application by clicking mcenteescholarshipapp2010

Deadline for applications is April 26, 2010. Applications must be postmarked by that date, or submit your application by emailing it to editor@JimMcEnteeLegacy.org

For information, call 408-923-5788.

The Jim McEntee Legacy Committee continues to work toward the creation of the Gathering Place for Peace, an art installation in the Jim McEntee Plaza in front of the main building for Santa Clara County. The design work, by local artist Carlos Pérez (a personal friend of Jim’s)  is well underway.  The installation will include some benches with appropriate quotations, a central design on the pavement surface, a series of tiles sponsored by individuals, families, and groups, and a large window decorated with images from Jim’s history. A plaque inside the building will list donors.

There is still time to donate! We don’t want anyone to feel left out when the installation is unveiled, hopefully this Fall.

The tiles are available in a variety of sizes and dollar amounts:

5″x3.8″ tile for $100 donation

5.75″x5.75″ tile for $250 donation

11.5″x5.75″ tile for $500 donation

11.5″x11.5″ tile for $1000 donation

To donate, download the form by clicking here: tiles-form

Be sure to fill out every bit of the form. Send it, with a check written to Friends of Human Relations to 14850 East Hills Drive, San Jose, CA 95127

The Jim McEntee Legacy Committee is delighted to announce the 2009-2010 Jim McEntee Legacy Scholarship.

From 1976 until his retirement in 2003, Jim McEntee served as the Executive Director of the Office of Human Relations of the County of Santa Clara.   He brought together people from many backgrounds and helped create the appreciation of diversity and climate of understanding which we treasure in Santa Clara County.

After Jim’s death in September of 2004, his family and friends created the Jim McEntee Legacy Committee to explore ways to ensure that his legacy would live on.  In addition to naming the plaza in front of the County Building in Jim’s memory, the committee has established this scholarship to encourage and support Santa Clara County students in their efforts to continue their education at a 4 year college or university.   We especially encourage applications from students who have faced financial and/or social obstacles in pursuing their education.

One $1000 scholarship will be awarded in May 2009 to a student currently attending community college in Santa Clara county who will be transferring to a four year university with junior status for the 2009-2010 academic year.  Please help us reach qualified applicants by forwarding this fact sheet to any community college students you know who may qualify.   The scholarship application may be downloaded by clicking here: Jim McEntee Legacy Scholarship Application 2009

Note: We are having technical difficulties at the moment. Please download and use last year’s Scholarship Application. Just be certain to use this years dates: February 28 start applicatons. May 4 all applications due.

Join friends of Jim McEnte for the groundbreaking event on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 10:30 AM at the James P. McEntee, Sr. Civic Center Plaza (70 West Hedding at First Street, San Jose). You will get an opportunity to see the artist’s rendition for the artwork that will be created at the plaza and learn (or revisit) stories about Jim’s wonderful life and the impact he had on our community.

To  download the flyer about the event,  click here: Ground breaking flyer

The Jim McEntee Legacy Art Project will include a window mural covering a large section of windows near the front door of the Santa Clara County Business Building at 70 West Hedding Street (at First Street) in San Jose. This image is not the final design, but rather the artist’s concept. The idea is to show Jim’s life and work through a vibrant collage of images.

This window is also available for naming with a donation of $10,000. Tax deductible donations, in any amount, can be made to Friends of Human Relations/Jim McEntee Legacy 14850 East Hills Drive, San Jose, CA 95127

See the next story for additional Naming Opportunities. Download the Naming Opportunity form by clicking here: Naming Opportunities: Bench or Window

Here is an arial view of the Gathering Place for Peace. Please note: This is just the artist’s concept, not a final design.

You can see that the square, which is about twenty by twenty feet, includes a central design of a dove of peace and eight benches. The square is outlined with tiles of various sizes. The black circles indicate existing trees. The gray curves are the eight benches.

The tiles provide an opportunity for families, organizations, or companies to support Jim McEntee’s legacy by making a specific donation toward the capital campaign. Money raised will cover the cost of the art project, plus provide the basic funding for the Jim McEntee Scholarship fund. The JMLC is hoping that all the folks who have benefitted from Jim’s work will contribute to this campaign.

The tiles are available in a variety of sizes and dollar amounts:

5″x3.8″ tile for $100 donation

5.75″x5.75″ tile for $250 donation

11.5″x5.75″ tile for $500 donation

11.5″x11.5″ tile for $1000 donation

You can have your family or organization name embossed on your square or add a small logo or a few words of wisdom.

The eight benches are also available embossing for a donation of $5000 each. The benches, since they are larger, would be suitable for a favorite quotation. Notice the words along the sides in the artist’s concept image.

The JMLC tried to keep the costs for this project as low as possible while still providing an excellent design. We hope that many of Jim’s friends will be able to participate in the project. If you cannot afford a tile alone, find some friends to join you. That’s the way Jim would want it anyway, a community project.

You tax deductible donations can be sent to Friends of Human Relations/Jim McEntee Legacy Project 14850 East Hills Drive, San Jose, CA 95127

See the previous story for additional Naming Opportunities. Download the donation form by clicking here: tiles-form

This image is gives us a concept of the Jim McEntee Legacy Art Project, designed by Carlos Pérez at the request of the Jim McEntee Legacy Committee. Carlos was a particularly good choice for this project since he often worked with Jim on projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations. Also, Jim presided at the marriage of Carlos and his lovely wife, Analisa. The two of them really understood the spirit in which this peace needed to be designed.

This concept image shows the Gathering Place for Peace which will be placed on one of the existing concrete squares of the James P. McEntee, Sr. Plaza in front of the Santa Clara County Government Building at 70 W. Hedding in San Jose (at First Street) California.

The space includes eight benches, facing toward each other. There will be a dove design in the center of the concrete and a band of tiles surround the square. The benches and the tiles offer opportunities for individuals, families, organizations, or companies to support the project financially.

On the window, by the main door to the building, Carlos will create a mural that will highlight many parts of Jim McEntee’s life and career. The final installation will also include a panel describing Jim’s life and another panel recognizing the donors who made the artwork possible.

The Jim McEntee Legacy Committee (JMLC) has been working diligently to decide how to remember this amazing man and his impact on our community. After numerous discussions with the larger community, the JMLC chose to create public art that would inform the community of Jim’s legacy, and also to establish a college scholarship fund for low-income students.

In January 2006, the Legacy Committee contracted with well-known San José artist Carlos Pérez of the ArtOrigin Design Team to create a piece of artwork that would carry on Jim’s message of peacemaking, nonviolence, and respect for diversity. Carlos and his wife Analisa have created various public art commissions locally, including:

The Artistic Mestizaje

Mural, Mexican Heritage Plaza

Honoring the Legacy, Building for the Future

Glass Mural, Yu-Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Service

Transformation,
Mobile Sculpture, Evergreen Valley High School Library

For the Jim McEntee Art Project, Carlos and the JMLC held a number of focus group meetings throughout the county, meeting with a wide variety of communities with which Jim had worked. Three important considerations for the design emerged from the public forums :

• A public gathering place for the community
• A place that evokes peace, harmony and social justice
• A place that will inspire future generations to carry on Jim’s legacy of service to community

In addition, the design could include elements such as a dove of peace and symbols associated with the diverse cultural communities that Jim served.

On Tuesday, February 26, the JMLC presented the concept to the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors and received their approval. The design will include two main components: a window mural depicting important elements of Jim’s life and career,  and a Gathering Place for Peace.

You can find more information about the Jim McEntee Legacy Scholarship by clicking the two related buttons at the top of the page. Or download the new application here: Jim McEntee Scholarship application 2008-9

For background information about the scholarship, click here:Jim McEntee Scholarship Facts Sheet

JESSICA GARCIA, RECIPIENT OF FIRST ANNUAL
JIM McENTEE SCHOLARSHIP

Gavilan College graduate Jessica Garcia was awarded the first annual Jim McEntee Scholarship in 2007. Gilroy resident Jessica Garcia, raised by her mother, grandparents and aunts, almost dropped out of high school. However she persevered. She attended Mt. Madonna Continuation High school and graduated as student body president. She credits her teachers with creating an environment that allowed students to find their own identity.

After high school Jessica got a job working with the City of Gilroy, tutoring and doing recreational activities with youth. She also worked with First Five, a program which helped underprivileged Hispanic children under the age of five, participate on soccer teams, while paying all the expenses. Based on these work experiences Jessica has decided to major in recreation administration at San Jose State University.

The Jim McEntee Scholarship will be awarded annually in memory of peacemaker Jim McEntee, who was the Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations for more than 27 years. To honor his peace and justice legacy, his family and friends have established a scholarship to be awarded to a Santa Clara County resident who is transferring as a junior from a Santa Clara County community college to a four year college or university. Preference is given to students who have faced obstacles to obtaining higher education.