YACHATS – The Yachats Lions Club gave $33,000 to 14 community organizations Tuesday night to wrap up its charitable giving for 2024, led by $10,000 to two Waldport schools and $5,000 to the Yachats Food Pantry.
Yachats Lions raise money through its busy thrift shop on West Fourth Street, pancake breakfasts, other fundraisers and donations. The club has also resumed its popular monthly “lunch bunch” gatherings and started a monthly speakers series.
The total donated to community organizations Tuesday was $4,500 more than last year, said Lions president David Okelley.
In addition, Yachats Lions is giving $4,000 to the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation, $2,000 to the Lions International Foundation and $5,000 to the Lincoln County Foundation for college scholarships for Waldport High School graduates for a total of $44,000 in giving for 2024.
The contributions were in the areas of youth, humanitarian causes, the environment and hunger, said Okelley.
Tuesday night, the Lions gave $6,000 to Crestview Heights School to help purchase school supplies and $4,000 to Waldport Middle/High School for athletic equipment. The $5,000 donation to the Yachats Food Pantry at Yachats Community Presbyterian Church was to help purchase food and other supplies.
Other donations and groups were: $3,500 to Yachats Memorial Park to fix steps on the north side of the cemetery; $2,000 to Meals on Wheels; $1,800 to Yachats Youth and Family Activities Program for summer school scholarships; $1,700 to Oregon Coast Aquarium for discounted Sunday tickets for Lincoln County residents; and $1,500 each to My Sisters Place in Newport, Waldport Food Share and South Lincoln Resources.
The club also gave $1,300 to South Lincoln Ambulance for emergency “go” bags and $1,200 to the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District for a hose adapter and fire extinguishers.
Receiving $1,000 each were View the Future, a Yachats land conservation group, and YachatsNews, a nonprofit local news service, both for staff hiring and support. The Newport-based Children’s Advocacy Center received $500.
