Rialto Lions Club members take initiative to clean up parking lot

Once or twice a month the Rialto Host Lions Club meets at Denny’s on the corner of Riverside and Foothill for a Saturday morning breakfast.  After enjoying food and friendship together in their bright yellow vests, they head over to the parking lot of the nearby 99 Cents Only store and begin removing all the trash on the surrounding grounds and shrubbery. Why?

Well, according to Lions Club member Kathy McCracken, they had noticed how bad the trash had accumulated there one day, so they all decided to help out.

“The first time we didn’t even contact the store about cleaning around there until we were through.  The manager was really grateful when we showed him, though,” said McCracken.  And so, the 99 Cents Only store parking lot clean-up became a part of the club’s monthly routine.

Last Saturday a small group of Lions members got together after breakfast and went to work on the parking lot despite the blustery winds prevailing in Rialto that morning.  Armed with gloves and grabbers, trash bags and a great sense of humor, the small band of Rialto Host Lions Club associates went to work on clearing away the rubbish.

“We spend anywhere from one to two hours here each time,” said Lions Club President Don Martin, “It always depends on how many people show up and how bad it is.”

Store manager Leandro Gutierrez was appreciative of their efforts. “They’re just awesome,” he said about the Lions, “doing this for us, well, it’s just wow!”

Martin said this was the third time the group met to focus on cleaning the parking lot. Members from the Bloomington Lions Club were on hand to help, too.  “This is what Lions Club is all about, service to the community,” said Martin.

Lions Clubs are always collecting old eyeglasses for their upcoming nationwide sight programs that include vision screenings and free eyeglasses to participants in need.

If you are looking for a community service organization to join and would like more information on the Rialto Host Lions Club membership, please contact Kathy McCracken at 909-561-1072 and you can check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tkmccracken/about/