Community & Clubs: Local teens assist kids in getting school supplies

More than 40 college and high school leaders from Orange Coast College Circle K and the Costa Mesa and Estancia High School Key Clubs mentored nearly two dozen children from Costa Mesa during a shopping trip for school clothes at Sears, South Coast Plaza. The children, all members of the Boys & Girls Club of the Harbor Area, were selected on the basis of need.

The partnership of Kiwanis, the Boys & Girls Club, Circle K, and the Key Clubs have become a potent force benefiting the children of Costa Mesa. The project was planned by a committee of students including chairwoman Kelly Ho and Patrick Junpradub from OCC, Gianna Jason and Ilene Umansky from Estancia, and Abby To and Michael Chantos from Costa Mesa High. Kiwanian Jeff Dimsdale was the project advisor.

In addition to a full complement of clothing and shoes, the children from first through 11th grade received comprehensive school supply kits appropriate to their grade thanks to the generosity of donors, including Hoag Hospital, the Costa Mesa Community Foundation, Union Bank, South Coast Plaza, Sears, Office Depot, Orange Coast College, the Starbucks Coffee Co. and attorney Gregory Bartone.

Energy was high on the bus ride from Sears, and the day concluded with an All-American picnic. It included traditional games, crafts, prizes, and a great barbecue lunch.

Meanwhile, the Assistance League of Newport Mesa Operation School Bell assisted nearly 140 children on Saturday, Aug. 24, with new clothes and school supplies, according to Lee Glover, who was assisted by Assisteen members and their moms along with members of the La Marisa Chapter. The students were also screened for dental at the same time and found teeth that needed help.

Planting trees

Carol Proctor, the newly-installed president of the Harbor Mesa Lions, has announced the tree planting project for helping our environment in Costa Mesa and surrounding cities.

Working with the city of Costa Mesa, plans are being formed to replace trees in Lion's Park this fall. The Lions of District 4L4, consisting of 1,150 members in 39 clubs from San Clemente to Rancho Cucamonga, and headed by Gov. Ken Sherwood, are participating in the proposal of planting 1,000 trees in their respective local communities within the next year.

The "Sherwood's Forest" project is in conjunction with the Lions International President's mission to plant trees worldwide. For more information about Harbor Mesa Lions, go to nhcmlions.com. or http://www.lionsclubs.org.