San Jose trivia contest drums up funds for hospital burn unit


I unleashed my inner Alex Trebek on Thursday night as I played game show host for the inaugural San Jose Q&A, a trivia competition that raised more than $230,000 to support the burn unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

“This money we raised will affect and save many lives, and we did it with a smile,” said Michael Van Every, the president of Republic Urban Properties, who suffered severe burns as a child and received life-saving treatment at VMC.

Republic Urban Properties President Michael Van Every, right, addresses the audience at the inaugural San Jose Q&A, a trivia fundraiser to support the burn unit at Valley Medical Center, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at San Jose Stage Company. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Republic Urban Properties President Michael Van Every, right, addresses the audience at the inaugural San Jose Q&A, a trivia fundraiser to support the burn unit at Valley Medical Center, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at San Jose Stage Company. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

He came up with the idea of having a “fun” fundraiser that wasn’t the usual banquet dinner or auction and hit up some history-minded people to come up with questions about San Jose and Santa Clara County that would challenge the three contestants — Valley Health Foundation CEO Michael Elliott, Janikke Klem of Heritage Bank of Commerce and Mark Ritchie of Ritchie Commercial.

They actually did a great job coming up with answers. But the audience of nearly 200 people definitely let the contestants know about it when they answered incorrectly, as did the evening’s “celebrity judge,” former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, who made the call on close answers and injected some personality into the evening.

Klem was already in first place when she was the only one to correctly answer the final question — What was San Jose’s first sister city? Answer: Okayama, Japan in 1957 — and took home bragging rights, along with a snazzy championship belt and a basket of wine.

But, as Van Every pointed out, the big winner was the burn unit at Valley Medical Center, which will be able to use those funds to help out more patients.

CLINIC HITS THE ROAD: Recognizing that not everyone has the ability to easily get to necessary medical care, a quartet of organizations teamed up on a good solution: A mobile medical clinic that will make regular visits to areas to provide uninsured adults with free healthcare, including chronic condition management and referrals for specialized care.

The Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic was on display for tours at its ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose. The mobile clinic is the result of a partnership among Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Order of Malta, RotaCare Bay Area and the Rotary Club of San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic was on display for tours at its ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose. The mobile clinic is the result of a partnership among Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the Order of Malta, RotaCare Bay Area and the Rotary Club of San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

The groups behind the effort are Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, which will operate the Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic; RotaCare Bay Area, which is providing the volunteer medical professionals to staff it; the Order of Malta; and the San Jose Rotary Club.

They cut the ribbon on the state-of-the-art vehicle, which includes two exam rooms, on Thursday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East San Jose with a crowd that included Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County CEO Greg Kepferle, RotaCare Bay Area CEO JP Kaur Sahi; Mike Blach and Vic Giacalone, who are on the board of Order of Malta, Western Association USA; and Vince Sunzeri, who headed up the project team for the Rotary Club of San Jose.

Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County CEO Greg Kepferle, left, RotaCare Bay Area CEO JP Kaur Sahi, center, and Vince Sunzeri of the Rotary Club of San Jose, pose in front of the Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County CEO Greg Kepferle, left, RotaCare Bay Area CEO JP Kaur Sahi, center, and Vince Sunzeri of the Rotary Club of San Jose, pose in front of the Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Jose. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

BIG SLICE OF COMPASSION: We all know about Oktoberfest, but did you know that it’s also Socktoberfest this month? At least that’s the case at Tony & Alba’s Pizza on Stevens Creek Boulevard, where owners Diana and Al Vallorz are pledging to donate a pair of warm socks to farmworkers in the Salinas Valley for every small, large or extra large pizza ordered for the rest of the month. They’ll also be accepting donations, too.

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