Don't Be Scared - Giving Blood is Easy This October!

Please join us for the Yosemite Lions Club Annual Fall Blood Drive in El Portal at the community hall on Wednesday, October 26th.  As always, all donors will receive a free t-shirt along with orange juice and doughnuts!  The Central California Blood Center's Bloodmobile will be on hand to accept your donations.  Give the gift of life by donating blood this month.

Sucessful Summer Fundraising Events for the Yosemite Lions Club

Another summer has come and gone in the Sierra Nevada and we here at the Yosemite Lions Club want to thank the Yosemite community for supporting our two biggest fundraising events: the Mosquito Festival in Yosemite Valley and the annual Wawona Golf Tournament at the Wawona Hotel.  Though rain threatened and finally arrived during the afternoon BBQ dinner and raffle, the golf tournament raised $6000 for community projects.  Though the club regularly supports the Yosemite Child Care Center in Yosemite Valley, this year the center became a focus of fundraising as the outdoor play area and equipment was destroyed during the late spring snowstorms.  In addition to the funds generated by the golf tournament, the Mosquito Festival also raised $4000.  Thanks to you, the Yosemite Lions Club can provide support to the Child Care Center and other community projects such as scholarships for college students and supporting sight-impaired citizens.

Not only do we support worthy causes by sponsoring events, we also provide the opportunity to win prizes such as the week's stay in a house in Hawaii at the Mosquito Festival and dining certificates for the Ahwahnee Dining Room and the Mountain Room restaurant at Yosemite Lodge.  You can contribute to your community and have fun doing it!

The Lions Club is grateful to DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite for partnering with all our fundraising events, but we'd especially like to thank the food & beverage staff at Yosemite Lodge for providing the dinner at the Mosquito Festival and the Wawona Hotel staff for facilitating the golf tournament.  The Club would also like to thank all the business partners and friends who contributed raffle prizes, and the community members who attend and make the fundraising possible.  We hope to see you next year at these and other great Yosemite events!

Mosquito Festival Today in Yosemite Valley!

We hope to see you in Yosemite Valley today for tri-tip dinner and the Best Raffle in the Known World to benefit Yosemite Child Care Center: Yosemite Mosquito Festival 2011

Two Great Summer Events in Yosemite National Park Sponsored by the Yosemite Lions Club!

Each summer, the Yosemite Lions Club sponsors two fundraising events in Yosemite National Park for various projects supported by the club.  This year, the Mosquito Festival in Yosemite Valley and the Annual Yosemite Lions Club Golf Tournament at Wawona will raise funds specifically for the Yosemite Child Care Center in Yosemite Valley.  We had wild weather this past winter in Yosemite and the child care center experienced structural damage in their outdoor playground.  We hope to raise funds to support the installation of a new playground structure to benefit all of the local children that utilize the center.

The 59th Annual Mosquito Festival will take place on Wednesday, August 10th at the Yosemite Valley School.  Tickets include a tri-tip beef dinner for $12, a vegetarian dinner for $10, a kid's dinner for $6 and a senior's dinner for $10.  In addition to individual tickets, we are offering a family rate of 4 tickets for $30 and a couple rate of $20 for two.  Besides dinner, the Best Raffle in the Known World will take place at the festival, including a week's stay at a vacation home in Hawaii.  Tickets will be available for purchase in advance from Yosemite Lions Club members, raffle tickets available the day of the event.  Come celebrate the exodus of mosquitoes from Yosemite Valley at the 59th annual Mosquito Festival and support a good cause.

Summer's other great event, the Golf Tournament, takes place Saturday, September 10th at the Wawona Hotel golf course.  The tournament includes a BBQ dinner and the Second Best Raffle in the Known World.  See the registration form below to participate and watch this page for more details.  Hope to see you at both events!

Yosemite Lions Club Golf Tournament 2011

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.

Call for Recipes!

Call for Recipes:
Do you have a favorite campfire or grilling recipe?  How do use up your CSA veggie box from Mountain Meadow Farm?  What do you cook at Rancheria, the Ranger Club or in the Tecoya Dorm?  Does anyone have recipes involving Village Store or El Portal Market specialties?  How about those native acorns?! 

The Yosemite Lions Club Cookbook Committee is looking for recipes of all types from the local community to include in a fundraising cookbook.  Recipes may include appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, desserts, breads, drinks and any other culinary delights.  We encourage home cooks and our local professional chefs to share their recipes with the only requirement being that the recipe represent your personal food experience in Yosemite.  We will use submitted recipes to create the Yosemite Lions Club Cookbook to raise funds for various projects supported by the club.

Guidelines:

• Please submit all recipes and questions by August 31, 2011.
• Use the recipe submission form* below and you can submit by email to yosemitelionsclub@yahoo.com or drop off printed recipe forms at the following locations:  Brett Archer at the Ahwahnee Hotel, Teri Tudela and Kym Wright-Youngdale at the DNC warehouse, Patti Burgess at the DNC Retail Office in the General Office building, Alison Grove or Yolanda Cheley at the DNC Housing office, Michelle Hansen at the Yosemite Conservancy office in El Portal, and care of Mike Osborne at the El Portal Market - use the video drop box outside the store.
• Submit as many recipes as you like, but please note that we may not be able to print all of them.
• Please include original recipes only.  If you have a favorite recipe from another cookbook that you want to share, demonstrate how you make it your own through your original modification.  No one wants to get sued for copyright infringement.

*Please note that if you download the form below and plan to type your recipe onto the form and save it as a file to your computer, be sure to select the DOC option in the download window and not PDF.  The PDF version is for printing and handwriting the recipe only.

Yosemite Lions Club Recipe Submission Form

Yosemite's Successful Blood Drive

Thanks to members of the Yosemite community, an all-time record number of blood units was collected at the Yosemite Lions Club Spring Blood Drive on May 4th this year.  A total of 60 units of blood were processed by the Central California Blood Center, with many donors this year attending the Yosemite Blood Drive for the first time.  The Lions Club EyeMobile also provided eye health exams to 25 people.  Thanks to Lions Club members Bill Thomas, Brett Archer, Diane Stewart and Kym Wright-Youngdale for providing the orange juice, doughnuts and free t-shirts to all blood donors.  With your generous contributions, the success of the blood drive provides vital support to the Yosemite community with the gift of life.