Lions are Preparing for Christmas for Seniors

The Tehachapi Lions Club held their last summer backyard meeting of the season on Aug. 18 at the home of President Walt Satalino. The Lions enjoyed lots of good food and camaraderie during the meeting.

The Lions are preparing for their upcoming Oct. 9 Apple Drop during the Tehachapi Apple Festival and were very excited to have Sandy Morris from Christmas for Seniors of Kern County as their guest speaker. Morris is a former public relations specialist in the Crime Prevention Unit of the Bakersfield Police Department. While spending numerous hours teaching safety techniques to Bakersfield's senior citizens, she discovered that many of them lived in low-income housing on extremely fixed incomes. These seniors were doing without everyday necessities and were too proud to ask for assistance.

With that concept in mind, Christmas for Seniors was born. The program adopts low-income, homebound or isolated seniors who would otherwise not have a Christmas. The seniors fill out a wish list for themselves and their pets. The seniors receive items from their wish list as well as a large box of sundries and Christmas cards from local school children and community volunteers.

This will be the second year that the Lions will be involved in this worthy project. Last year, the Lions were able to provide a Christmas to 30 Tehachapi seniors due to the generosity and support of our wonderful community. You can help the Lions this year if you are aware of a senior that is isolated, has no family support and will not have a Christmas this year, by contacting us at (661) 822-7583.

The Lions fund Christmas for Seniors by selling their Apple Drop Tickets which are $5 a piece. You can purchase these tickets from any Lions member or during ticket sales at Albertson's on Sept. 10, 16, 23, 24, 30 or Oct. 1 or at the Lions Booth during the Apple Festival on October 8 and 9.

The Lions also need help collecting sundries items such as: 2-ply toilet paper, flushable wipes, dryer fabric softener sheets, small size laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, disinfectant wipes, paper towels, Kleenex, razors and shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste, men's and ladies deodorant, hand sanitizer, large print word finds, puzzle books, books and calendars. The sundry items can be dropped off at the Lions Booth during the Apple Festival (Oct 8 & 9 at Railroad Park), at the Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce (209 E Tehachapi Blvd) and at The Loop Newspaper (206 S Green St).

The Tehachapi Lions Club motto is "We Serve". The Lions actively serve in our community through projects, donations and camaraderie. The Lions are always looking for new members who want to serve our community. For more information about the Tehachapi Lions club visit us at the Tehachapi Lions Club Facebook page, visit our website at http://e-clubhouse.org/sites/tehachapi/ or call (661) 822-7583.