YLC Raises Funds for El Portal School and Welcomes New Member Bil Gleason!

The Yosemite Lions Club would like to officially announce Bil Gleason as our newest member! Welcome Bil, and thanks for all your help with pancakes. On Saturday, April 27th the club held its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser at the Spring Fling celebration in El Portal. Club Secretary Brett gives us an update:

Club members Mike, Arvin, Brett and Bill T.

"It was an awesome pancake breakfast this past Saturday at the El Portal Spring Fling.  We went through the 150 plates Bill had bought, plus about 20 or so that Arvin found in the cupboard there, plus about 15 ceramic plates we had to break out of the cupboards, making it about 200 guests!

You know it is a good one when you have very little left (2 jugs of syrup only)!

If pancake flipping was an Olympic sport, Bill, would be the gold medalist.  He was crankin' those pancakes out like nobody's business.

Our newest club member, Bil Gleason, was the master stirrer, keeping both the orange juice and pancake batter mixed up.  He also made some signs to go on Highway 140 advertising the breakfast.  The man did not stop from the moment he got there to the moment he left.

Alison had trouble counting correctly every now and then, but other than that, she and Jodi kept the food line moving while Teri was raking in the money people were throwing at her.  Volunteer Shani was out front too helping the ladies and looking pretty!

When Bill had the pancakes done, Sean was there with a plate, he handed them off to Arvin who kept the chafing dish filled until we couldn't keep up and by then, they were coming right of the griddle onto someone's plate.   It was quite the assembly line.

Oz kept all of us in line and was the glue that held us together.  Say it isn't so, Oz.  This is your last pancake breakfast?   :-(

Spring Fling Coordinator Claudine said she had 50 more runners this year.  We took in $285.00, which means we raised this amount for the El Portal school!

As always, it was a lot of fun.  Thanks to Teri for taking photos of the Yosemite Lions Club hard at work."

Club members Bil G., Alison and VP Jodi

Thanks once again to the Yosemite community for your participation and enthusiasm for our fundraising efforts. We hope to see you at the El Mosquito Fiesta in Yosemite Valley on July 25th.

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.

Who Likes Pancakes for Breakfast?!

Every year at the Spring Fling in El Portal, the Yosemite Lions Club hosts a fundraising Pancake Breakfast to support the El Portal School. Starting at 7:00AM, prior to the start of the El Portal Spring Run-Off 5k and 10k run, the club will serve pancakes with syrup, butter, sausage, fruit and milk or juice to drink. Breakfast is included with race registration, however, if you are a spectator with breakfast needs, you too can eat breakfast for a donated sum. Contact information for the Run-Off is included below: