Doing good never goes out of style.
Doing good never goes out of style.
El Cajon Valley Host Lions Club members have rounded out three decades of delivering Christmas baskets to feed needy families in East County during the holiday season. During the evening of Friday, Dec. 16 and the early morning hours on Saturday, Dec. 17, volunteers with the local Lions gathered in downtown El Cajon to assemble food items into large boxes, which volunteer drivers took directly to recipients’ homes. Participating in the charitable efforts were around 40 Lions and their family members, and 15 students from the El Cajon Valley High School Leos Club, junior associates working with the Lions.
According to Van Willsey, current Lions Club president, each basket contained a turkey “with all the fixin’s,” canned goods, produce, rice, and other pantry staples. “Every year, the volunteer drivers return from deliveries with heart-warming stories of how appreciative the families are. This year, three children from one family colored a construction paper sign saying thank you. This is really an amazing thing.”
Most of the Christmas basket deliveries were in El Cajon and Lakeside. Needy families who received these boxes of holiday supplies were brought to the attention of the Lions by the Salvation Army and local schools in the Cajon Valley School District. For the Christmas 2015 event, the Lions delivered food-packed boxes to homes of 120 families. The sources supplied fewer needy family names for 2016. Willsey said that allowed the Lions to provide more food for each delivery. The local Vons store sold groceries to the Lions at discounted prices. Surplus food items were taken to the Salvation Army. “We have a great partnership, a great relationship with the Salvation Army,” Willsey noted.
Lions Club member Bob Moreau chaired the Christmas Basket event this year. “Everybody works great together,” Moreau reflected. He singled out for special acknowledgement the Leos, saying, “The Leos did an outstanding job.” Willsey said that the event went very smoothly and efficiently this year, with the deliveries concluding by mid-morning.
This Lions Club first charitable holiday food deliveries were staged in 1967, with 25 needy families given Christmas baskets that year. The annual tradition grew to serve from 35 to 45 low-income East County families over following years, and then more than doubled that number during recent years.
Lions Club member Tom Hoban opened his business buildings as a staging facility for the event. Hoban Property Management is located at 215 W. Lexington Ave. in downtown El Cajon.
The El Cajon Valley Host Lions Club membership is by invitation, to persons of good moral character who are willing to serve others. More information on the group, its meeting schedule at the El Cajon Elks Lodge, and its members’ charitable activities can be found at http://ecvlionsclub.com.
