Community & Clubs:

The Harbor Mesa Lions wrapped gifts for the Westside Boys & Girls Club Christmas Shopping Event on Saturday. The club is one of several organizations that holds this yearly event, donating toys for the children and gifts for parents. The children buy the gifts with points they have earned throughout the year by completing homework assignments.

HERE’S A GIFT FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS EVERYTHING

Jo Smith, who helped establish the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa, and Linda Schulein, who founded the shelter support group Friends of Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter or FOCIS, will be honored at a gala at 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa.

The event, which features cocktails, dinner and jazz, is put on by FOCIS and proceeds will benefit the homeless families living at the shelter. For reservations, call (949) 718-0442, or e-mail focisinfo@yahoo.com.

Tickets cost $150 per person, and would make a great gift and serve a good cause.

The Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, a nonprofit, is the oldest shelter for homeless families in Orange County. Operating since 1981, the shelter has developed programs which help families get back on their feet and become self-sufficient.

Every day the shelter houses between 50 and 60 adults and 40 and 50 children.

The shelter provides counseling and more than 87,000 meals to more than 2,300 homeless people, devoting much of its efforts to helping the children for whom homelessness can often cause developmental delays, insecurity, fearfulness and lack of self-esteem.

Today, in Orange County there are more than 35,000 homeless people, and 70% of them are families with children. For more information visit www.ocinterfaithshelter.org.

EXCHANGE CLUB HELPING FAMILIES

Exchange Club member Bill Bechtel announced the successful Families Helping Families project, and thanked George and Gina Lesley, Jeanne and Jerry Nininger, as well as wife Delene.

The Exchange Club of Newport Harbor provided gifts for five families, and got them all wrapped before their party Saturday. Bill Bechtel needed $100 more to cover the costs, and — wow — he got it right on the spot.

“We can be a very generous group on the right occasion,” Bechtel said.

BEST GIFT OF ALL

As you gather around the dinner table after having shared the excitement of the gift exchange, take time to appreciate and share your love for those at the table and others who are important to you.