Photos By Sandra Small Photographer.

The La Mesa Chamber put a “little love” in lots of hearts on December 7th when the baskets and bags full of food, toiletries, cash, gift cards, socks and other donated/purchased items were delivered to Maxine Lynch, President and Lindsey Hurley, Vice President of the La Mesa City Employees Association. These baskets and bags will be delivered along with a hot turkey meal, complete with all the trimmings and a piece of apple pie to 24 homebound seniors on December16th. These homebound seniors are identified by the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol and the La Mesa City Employees Association as needing holiday items, as well as a bit of local “love.” Each year the La Mesa Chamber allocates funds to assist these seniors and this year was joined by financial partners, Barona Resort & Casino, Albert Fulcher, Kyle Nyswonger of Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World, Michelle Huey of Pete’s Place and Myron Lange. In addition to these cash donations, gift cards were donated to our seniors by members of the community. This year was a record year for donations from all over the region. We are happy to report that some of the items for our wonderful seniors were: 75 cans of beans, 28 breakfast bars, 128 boxes of pastas and mac & cheese, 384 selections of candies, 476 cans of vegetables, 68 boxes of cereals, 32 assorted packages of pasta and rice, 225 packages of juice, hot chocolate, and coffee, 389 miscellaneous toiletry items, 49 packages of gravies and sauces, 247 packages of various snacks, 44 stationery items, 95 pens, 53 pairs of socks,112 tooth brushes, 33 boxes of tissues and more! Donors of the cloth bags used to transport all the additional items were: SDG&E, Sycuan Casino, Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World, EDCO and EmbrioidMe-La Mesa.

These items are lovingly packaged and wrapped for each of our 24 seniors, along with special Christmas cards to make their holiday bright. The delivery of the entire 72 huge gift baskets and loaded cloth bags was made possible by the Carl Burger Dodge Chrysler Jeep RAM World team donating 2 vans and their own special team members: David Luis and Pablo Tapia, to hand carry and pack these items and deliver them to the La Mesa Police Department. Thank you, gentlemen!

We are overwhelmed by the support of so many from throughout the region that wanted to make a difference in the lives of these seniors. Our homebound seniors do not ask for much and accept all that they are given with a grateful heart. Thank you to everyone who partnered with us on this worthwhile holiday project.