Last Saturday, the Colton Lions Club set-up shop at Pepper’s Park (5th St and N St) to hand out free backpacks to the first 100 kids, any school age, who came to the park with their parent(s). Now, in its fifth year, the Colton Lions Club, under the direction of President Carlos Araiza, has sponsored this event, which is designed to help kids get off to a positive start when school begins July 31.
“We believe in helping the community,” says Evelyn Lopez, one of the long-time Lions Club members, who went on to explain, “The funds came from a variety of sources.” When asked to identify those sources, Soledad Morden, another member added, “We helped with a rodeo fundraiser, we had a 66er-Baseball fundraiser selling tickets, and we organized a Super Bowl pool.” The amount raised was approximately $1,000 which was just enough to purchase 100 backpacks. The backpack committee included Evelyn Lopez, Soledad Morden and Lisa Roo.
About one week before the backpack event, the committee worked to organize the backpacks into colors and filled them with a variety of school supplies, including paper, pens, pencils, crayons, and a notepad. On July 18, many kids came to the park and walked away with a new backpack. “I like to see the smiles on their faces when they pickup their new backpacks,” added Lopez.
About a dozen Colton Lions members came to help with the event including Carlos Araiza, Noah Gago, Matthew Hernandez, Evelyn Lopez, Laurie Luckner, Edward Morden, Erik Morden, Soledad Morden, Rogelio Robles, Lisa Roo, and Council Member Dr.G.
The Annual Backpack give-a-way has become a very popular event for the Colton Lions Club. “It’s has grown over the years,” exclaimed Carlos Araiza, President of Colton Lions. On that day, local children were able to come with their parents to pick up a colorful backpack of their choice, all provided with funds from the previously named fundraisers. Congratulations to the Colton Lions Club for another successful backpack give-a-way event and may their efforts continue to shine in the community. For more information about the Colton Lions Club, contact President Carlos Araiza @ 951-232-2901
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