Anyone who stepped inside of the 23 Club Feb. 17 drank in the company of Skyline’s Heart Wrenches.
The Heart Wrenchers are a car mechanics club whose members are females trying to raise awareness of women in the automotive industry while supporting each other on Skyline’s campus inside the automotive tech classes.
Fundraisers similar to the one inside the 23 Club reach out to women interested in car mechanics and people unfamiliar with the female minority working on cars.
Misty Perez, 24, the vice president of the Heart Wrenchers, says these events reach out to make us aware of women pursuing work in a predominantly male environment. “There’s a big superstition,” Perez said. “Two percent of the automotive industry is women.”
The third annual “Heart Wrenching Affair” is a car show, barbecue and fundraiser designed to support the women at Skyline. Admission sat at $8 for regular guest and $5 for anyone who wore a club jacket. After 10 p.m, only people 21 years old and over could enter the event.
Some prizes for the fundraiser included a family four pack for Pier 39 and San Francisco Bulls tickets.
Rockabilly vibes accompanied the bar when a “surf-a-billy” band called Los High Tops performed on stage. People danced to sounds of guitar and vocalist Lenny Fortunato, bassist Rick Kienle and Drummer Tony Tissot.
In addition to a live band, the Wrenchers invited vendors to the bar. Scott Cowen, 27, a vendor promoting his Cruiser Lifestyle clothing line, attended the “Affair” last year. “I’m here to support and show some love,” Cowen said. “Its great for the program.”
The fundraiser isn’t the only activity the Wrenchers do to create a presence. President Gelina Aquilina, 31, of the Wrenchers says they’ve done a variety of things to help out their fellow members and the community. “This semester we donated a car to one of the Heart Wrenchers,” said Aquilina. “(We) recruit students from high school through the ‘Expanding Your Horizons’ event put together by Skyline. We also do ‘The Little Wrenchers’, a car care clinic for young children.”
Aquilina says the girls’ commitment to the club influences a members confidence.
“(You can be) the only girl and it’s weird at first,” she says. “It’s nice to show other women that we can do it. Don’t let being a women stop you.”
