RSSDonations generous and early by GJ Lions Club
Jamie Hamilton, tournament chairman of the Junior College World Series, receives an oversized check from Grand Junction Lions Club member Sean Hazelhurst inside the Lincoln Park Tower Tuesday afternoon.
Grand Junction Lions Club President Jeff Baker and Jamie Hamilton, tournament chairman of the Junior College World Series, stood on the fourth floor of the Lincoln Park Tower and gazed down on the new sign marking the “Lions Den” dugout.
“There it is,” Hamilton said, after remarking how important donations such as the $20,000 given by the club was to the construction project at the Lincoln Park Sports Complex.
“When we had to go out and raise a million additional dollars, something like this means a lot,” Hamilton said when accepting the oversized check at the club’s annual awards luncheon.
Last year, the Lions Club promised to give the Grand Junction Baseball Committee $25,000 which would be paid in $5,000 installments over the next five years. However, they fulfilled their financial obligation in just two years.
The Western Colorado Botanical Gardens was supposed to have received a $15,000 donation this year from the club, explained Ky Oday, past-president. The gardens, however, were unable to fulfill their matching fundraising efforts and their money was given to the GJ Baseball Committee, Oday said.
“We like to pay on those long-term commitments if we can which just leaves more money for somebody else next year,” Oday said.
In addition to the large donation, the club gave another $25,000 to other local organizations.
Those donations included:
• School District 51/Fruita 8/9 School, $2,500, used for Kindle and e-books
• School District 51/Orchard Avenue Elementary, $5,000, used for science kits
• Mesa Land Trust, $5,000, used for the 3 Sisters Mountain Bike Project
• Mesa County Pro Bono, $1,352, used to purchase new computer
• Little Sprout Preschool, $1,800, used to purchase playground rubber
• Roice-Hurst Humane Society, $9,000, used to purchase a van to transport animals
“We truly appreciate the impact you have made in this community,” Terry Moss, board director of Little Sprouts Preschool, said as he gratefully accepted the donation made to the school. The money would bring the preschool’s play equipment up to state standards and ensure the safety of the children who play there, he added.
The club also announced the winners of the annual Joe Biggs Award which is given annually to an outstanding male and female high school athlete. This year’s recipients are Jamie Derrieux and Sean Rubalcaba.
The Grand Junction Lions Club raised $180,000 this year during their annual carnival fundraiser. “We had another successful year and we’re so happy to share it with the community,” Oday said.
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