Pasadena Leos Club Wants Pasadenans to Consider Donating to Local Food Banks

Pasadena Leos Club, the youth counterpart of the local Lions Club, is hosting a Fall Food Drive throughout November to encourage the community to donate to their local food banks. 

“We decided once again to do our food drive because our last food drive, which was in May, [got] a lot of support from the community itself and different donations were made. So we decided to once again continue it and make it a seasonal service project,” Diana Almaza, Advisor to Pasadena Leos Club, said. 

Almaza is referring to the food drive organized earlier this year in May, for which the Pasadena Leos set a goal of 300 pounds of food donations to local food banks and exceeded that.

Pasadena Leos will at Hastings Ranch Ralphs grocery store at 3601 E. Foothill Blvd. on Nov. 12 and 13 for this season’s Fall Food Drive. 

Members of the Pasadena community can drop off their food donations at the collection booth manned by volunteers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The food donations and cash donations as well will help support families dealing with food insecurities.

“We’re asking them just if they’re doing their seasonal shopping – maybe getting ready for Thanksgiving – that they make some donation, whether that be canned goods, beans, or anything that they’re willing to donate,” Almanza said. “But we’re also asking them that they can donate to their local food banks throughout the entire month. Maybe they have a couple of extra cans that they’re not using or clothing or anything that they feel would be beneficial to people in need; they can go ahead and donate on their end all throughout the month.”

Donors can also go direct to some of the local food banks anytime during the month to drop off donations. The Pasadena Leos said Friends in Deed, Union Station Homeless Services, Foothill Unity Center and the Salvation Army operate their own food banks, and they should be open to receive donations.

At the same time, Pasadena Leos continues to accept applications for membership through their website, https://pasadenaleos.weebly.com or by emailing pasadenaleosclub@gmail.com.

“We’re looking for anywhere from the ages of 13 to college level students who are interested in joining and making a difference in their community,” Almanza said. “If adults are interested in serving their community, they can always join the Pasadena Host Lions Club, which is the adult club in the Pasadena area. We are 102 years old in the Pasadena area. The Lions Club itself is an international club and it’s in almost every single country in the world.”

The Pasadena Leos do much of the volunteer work during this Fall Food Drive and other events throughout the year. Almanza said most of the work is done out of school time, including meetings where they plan events or come up with ideas on how they can help the local community.

“They do this because they want to assist people,” she said. “Any ideas and anything that’s done, it’s because of them. And I think it’s a great organization that can be supported. The students like to see that they are making a difference in the community.”