Calhan Lions KidSpree
On Saturday, August 7th, the Calhan Lions held their annual KidSpree at the Falcon WalMart. Lion Debbie Pieper has been our KidSpree coordinator for the last several years. She arranges the date with WalMart, marshals up the volunteers and works with Lion Carl Finney to identify and qualify area children. She and her committee make sure all of the paperwork is in order to make the shopping spree go smoothly.
KidSpree was originally a partnership between the Lions and WalMart. In recent years, WalMart has scaled back its contributions significantly. This year we received more contributions from the Calhan United Methodist Church alone than WalMart was able to provide. We are actively looking for a major corporate sponsor.
Without a strong retail partner and a reliable source of funding, many of the area Lions clubs discontinued KidSpree. The Calhan Lions felt that this program filled a serious need in our community. Lion Debbie has spent countless hours applying for funding, rounding up school supplies and soliciting donations. Her family spends time putting together the packs of school supplies and arranging the backpacks. Without her dedication we would not be able to pull off a successful event.
Lion Carl works through the Pikes Peak Community Action Agency to identify and qualify the 100 candidates for the program. This year we served 97 students from elementary through high school. We use a sliding scale based on age for determining the amount of money each child can spend—slightly less than $100 for those in grade school and slightly more for teenagers. We serve all of the children in a family. If one child qualifies, they all do. This means that in some years we serve more than 100 kids.
Adult shoppers take each student through the store and buy school clothes. Parents have identified need and have listed sizes. (Some of the sizes are accurate.) We try to have the kids come in three shifts so we do not overwhelm the volunteers and so we don’t have kids standing around waiting for a turn to shop.
Parents are escorted to a lounge where they are treated to coffee and donuts while they wait for their children to finish their shopping.
After the shopping spree, the kids pick out a backpack and are given a pack of school supplies before being reunited with their parents.
This program is rewarding on many levels, both for volunteers and for students. Even without a major sponsor, I encourage other clubs to look at restarting KidSpree. We serve takes on an immediate meaning on the first Saturday in August at the department store.
VDG Bob Selle and volunteer Donna Ellis waiting outside the dressing rooms for their participant to try on clothes.
One of the 97 students that the Calhan Lions assisted for KidSpree, having a little fun while his shopper was searching for the right size!Flags For First Graders
The woodworkers in the club assemble desk flags for the first graders in the rural schools in our area. Each first grader (or first and second grader in the case of schools where the grades are combined) receives a desk flag with a paragraph about the flag of the United States of America. Members of the club go to each school and give a short program to the students.
