Recap: Spring Events with Yosemite Lions Club

Spring in Yosemite is about waterfalls and wildflowers, but it is also about the beginning of event season for Yosemite Lions Club. Each year in April we host a Pancake Breakfast for the annual Spring Fling held in the community of El Portal that raises funds for the El Portal school. This year's breakfast was not as successful as years past, but we hope to see you there next year with a hearty appetite.

May is now filled with club events. Last year, the Yosemite Rotary Club disbanded and we have taken on a few of their annual events to continue the tradition. This year we hosted the former Rotary Annual Easter Egg Hunt for children in the Yosemite community at the Yosemite Valley School. Kids find eggs with prizes and candy, and they also have their photo taken with the Easter Bunny. The American Cancer Society Relay for Life takes place every May in the town of Mariposa, and the Yosemite Hiking for a Cure team sponsored by the Yosemite Lions Club again contributed great fundraising efforts to support cancer research. Team Captain Teri Tudela and Past President Kym Wright-Youngdale anchored the team at the event by participating for the entire 24 hours. Our team raised $3000. May also sees our annual Spring Blood Drive hosted with the Central California Blood Center in front of the Yosemite Valley visitor center. This year we collected pints of blood for a life-giving cause.

New to the event roster for Yosemite Lions Club is the annual Summer Gear Swap. Hosted at the Curry Village Community Center, the gear swap allows Yosemite residents to sell, buy or swap gently-used gear for something new to you.

In addition new events, we are pleased to announce the new members of Yosemite Lions Club - Jennifer Cleary and David Crow. Jennifer and David both work for DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite.

Next update: Summer Gear Swap, Mosquito Festival and the Golf Tournament!

Relay for Life This Saturday!

Each year the Yosemite Lions Club sponsors a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life - a fundraising event that supports cancer research. Our Relay is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, which means we have two more days of fundraising left!

From our Team Captain and fellow Lion, Teri Tudela:

"Only two more days to go!  Yosemite Hiking for a Cure is running in second place with $3180 raised so far (not including $345 I am turning in tonight)! Thank you for all your hard work.  Some teams have been fundraising since last October - just tells you what a strong team we have! Jodi is bringing a tent if anyone wants to rest.  We will also have a canopy set up for shade.  I would suggest bringing a chair and any snacks you might want during the day. Food is also offered both for sale and for free at various locations around the track. If you are staying the full event you might want to bring a sleeping bag, etc. Don't forget sunscreen (maybe a hat) - I hear it's suppose to be warm Saturday.

Our location is on the same side as parking.  We will have our purple "Yosemite Hiking for a Cure" banner up so we should be easy to find.  We will continue our fundraising during the event with the baskets for raffle and Bingo again this year.  Both were requested by participants from last year.  Vendor donations will make up the giveaways. Thanks again, Teri"



If you would like to make a contribution to our team's fundraising efforts, please visit our team page at the link below. If you are a team member already, we thank you for your contribution and dedication. See you on the track!


Donate here: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY13CA?team_id=1310741&pg=team&fr_id=48977

Spring Events with the Yosemite Lions Club

Spring has arrived and we're looking forward to seeing you at club sponsored events in April and May. Come out and enjoy spring in Yosemite as we host the annual pancake breakfast at Spring Fling in El Portal on April 27, 2013. In addition to our pancake fundraiser for the El Portal school, Spring Fling involves a 5K fun run called the El Portal Spring Run-Off, food vendors, craft vendors and live music at the El Portal Community Hall. If you're lucky, you'll also catch the California Poppy show that debuts each spring in the Merced River Canyon just outside of El Portal.

Each spring, in the Yosemite gateway town of Mariposa, the Yosemite Lions Club is proud to sponsor the Yosemite Hiking for a Cure Relay for Life team representing the Yosemite community. The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is a 24 hour fundraising event held at hundreds of venues across the country. Team members raise funds by pledging to walk a designated number of hours during a 24 hour time period to symbolize that cancer never sleeps. Located at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds, teams walk the track from 9 AM on Saturday May 18, 2013 through 9 AM on Sunday May 19. The event includes contests, team fundraisers, food, music and games to help keep the teams on the track for 24 hours. We are always looking for more team members and if you'd like to join us this year, please send us email at yosemitelionsclub@yahoo.com, join our team online at the Mariposa Relay for Life website or contact any of our club members.

On May 22, 2013, we return to Yosemite Valley for the annual Spring Blood Drive. Hosted in conjunction with the Central California Blood Center, the Bloodmobile will be parked in front of the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center from 10 AM to 3 PM to accept blood donations from community members and visitors. As always, donors receive a free t-shirt along with doughnuts and orange juice. We hope you'll join us for this important event that supports life-preserving efforts in our California community.

Yosemite Lions Club Helps Raise $3724.00 for Cancer Research!

On Saturday, May 19, the Yosemite Lions Club participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life to raise funds for cancer research. The club supported the Yosemite Hiking for a Cure team at the Mariposa fairgrounds by walking the track, hosting a fundraising bingo game and raffling gift bags. Here's a summary from Lion Patti, team co-captain:

"Thank you to everyone for your participation and support in the 2012 Relay For Life.  The event raised $59,222.04 to date.

In the team category, Yosemite Hiking For A Cure came in second place with $3,724 raised!  Our team goal was $2,500.  Great work everyone!  We not only met, but exceeded our goal for 2012.  This was not only made possible by our sponsor contributions from the Yosemite Lion's Club and DNC P&R at Yosemite, but also by some great fundraising from our team members, both individually and collectively.

In the individual fundraising category, Kym earned second place having collected $1,450.00.  Great job Kym!

Congratualtions to everyone for a great Relay!  A big thank you to Teri, our co-captain. She was there when I needed her facilitating fundraising and logistics!  Bingo was a successful fundraiser.  Kudos to Teri and Kym!  You both had the patience and resolve to walk the track to get the word out and bring in participants. Kym, your years of participation in this event, and fundraising capabilities, are an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for your enormous contribution!  Emily, thank you for providing our shade for this event, or we would have surely wilted under the heat of the Sun!  Pat, Audrey and Kurt, Michelle, and Alison, you are here, year after year, and without your participation and contributions to our team, we wouldn't have one.  Thank you!  I will follow up with our newest team-members to congratulate and give thanks for their participation.

The wrap up party is currently scheduled for Thursday, June 21st with time and place forthcoming from the Committee.  I hope to see you there!"

Looking Forward to Fundraising in 2012 (with a rewind to 2011)

We're heading towards spring here in Yosemite, though we really haven't had much of a winter!  Before winter came tiptoeing to the Sierra, the Yosemite Lions Club held another successful fall blood drive in El Portal at the community center.  Lions Club Member and blood drive coordinator Bill Thomas arranged once again for suitable decor and snacks for the annual October event, along with his ever-faithful supporter and Lions Club Member Diane Stewart.  Our blood drive marketing savvy has increased - we announced the drive in the Mariposa Gazette.  In previous years, the blood drive operation was set up inside the community center.  This year the Central California Blood Center's Bloodmobile was parked just outside, making the community center available for snacks and socializing with donors.  Every donor receives a free t-shirt, along with complimentary orange juice and sugary snacks to reset blood sugar levels after donating.  Thanks goes to the Yosemite and El Portal communities for making the blood drive a success - we appreciate your support!

Diane and Bill at the blood drive

Central California Blood Bank Letter Fall 2012 We added a new fundraising opportunity in 2011, one we hope will become a new tradition in the Yosemite community.  Every winter holiday season, the Yosemite Lions Club sells holiday trees and wreaths in front of the Village Store in Yosemite Valley.  This year we partnered with a tree farm in Michigan - Dutchmann Tree Farms - that provides online fundraising opportunities for non-profit organizations.  By ordering a tree or wreath online from Dutchmann, the Yosemite Lions Club received a portion of the proceeds to raise funds for community projects.  We raised just over $100 with this opportunity and everyone who ordered was very pleased with their tree or wreath.  We hope to spread the word about this great opportunity since purchasing a holiday tree and having it delivered to Yosemite with absolutely NO SHIPPING FEES seemed like a holiday gift in itself!  We'd like to thank Dutchmann Tree Farms for helping us help the Yosemite community.

After everyone took trips to the High Sierra in December and January due to the lack of snow, we realized that El Portal's Spring Fling is just around the corner in April.  The Yosemite Lions Club annually hosts a fundraising pancake breakfast at this event and we hope to have more details soon.  Soon after Spring Fling, the club will be sponsoring the Yosemite Hiking for a Cure team for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life fundraiser held in Mariposa on May 19, 2012.  Want to join our team and help fight cancer?  Check out our Team Page for details and if you can't join, consider donating to this worthy cause.

As always, we look forward to our summer fundraising events, the Mosquito Festival in Yosemite Valley and the Golf Tournament in Wawona.  If you've attended these events and have ideas or fond memories, we'd love to hear from you!  Don't forget to find us and "like" us on facebook, too.

Relay for Life with Yosemite Lions Club

Lions Club President Kym, Lion Teri, Lions Club Treasurer Yolanda and Lion Alison at the Mariposa Relay for Life

"Yosemite Hiking for a Cure", the Yosemite Lions Club sponsored fundraising team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, raised $4130 for cancer research in this year's relay.  Team Captain and Lions Club member Patti Burgess congratulates all of her team members on a job well-done: "It was a privilege to be your team captain this year.  Thank you everyone for not only meeting, but exceeding our team goal of $2,500.00."

The Relay for Life is a 24 hour event that is hosted in various venues across the country.  Locally, the event takes place at the Mariposa Fairgrounds, where walkers (or runners!) circle the track at scheduled times during the 24 hour period to raise funds by asking friends and family to sponsor their time on the track with donations.  Events include music and movies, raffles, a drag queen contest (Miss Relay 2011), and a Luminaria Ceremony where individuals who have suffered from cancer may be recognized with a customized luminaria - a candlelit bag that is decorated with an individual tribute.  The luminarias are staged around the entire track and lit at sunset, while the ceremony consists of speakers, live music, and a reading of the names on each luminaria.  Relay participants light candles of their own and walk the track during the name reading.

Team Captain Patti and Lion Kym light luminarias on the track.

The "Yosemite Hiking for a Cure" team consisted of more than just Lions Club members.  We send a warm thank you to our twenty-three team members from all walks of the Yosemite community: Team Captains Patti Burgess and Pat Reilly, Kurt Anderson, Annette Catamec, Yolanda Cheley, Jacqui Coffman, Christy Contreras, Marty Fazio, Michelle Hansen, Megan Hooper, Audrey Lanting, Joe Lewis, Jennifer Lipsinsky, Maddie Moore, Sean Pence, Eric Popoe, Sarah Rosenfeld, Danny Schaible, Bill Thomas, Melisa Tovar, Teri Tudela, Kym Wright-Youngdale and Katie Zepp.  Special thanks to Patti, Teri and Kym for sticking it out for the 24 hours, sleeping in a tent and walking in the middle of the night!

Overall, the Mariposa Relay for Life raised $70,000 for cancer research with Yosemite Hiking for a Cure being the third most successful fundraising team.  Our team also included the fourth most successful fundraiser for the entire event: Kym Wright-Youngdale with $1444.  The Yosemite Lions Club sponsors successful fundraising events with the dedicated assistance of the Yosemite community, providing funds and opportunity for community organizations and individuals.  Join us year-round for fundraising events in various locations throughout the Yosemite area, and check back often with the Yosemite Lions Club blog for the current event schedule.