The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lions donate beds, blankets to Good Knights for children
A red pickup truck sat in the back of a plaza on a cool fall day Nov. 4.
The truck, relatively new, had its bed full of blankets, comforters, sheets and pillows for children in need.
As the truck came to a stop, out popped two people dressed in red, with smiles large on their faces.
LaGrange Lions Club secretary Ann Sabo and her husband, Joe, and fellow members transported 40 beddings kits and pillows and a check of $675.75 to local organization Good Knights.
For the past month, Sabo has raised funds to give children in Lorain County beds to sleep in.
The group set aside $1,300 of its own funds and received an additional $700 in donations bringing the total to $2,000.
“We used some of the money to purchase bedding, and we’re also donating a check,” Sabo said. “We’re very limited in what we can do now, and this is something we were able to do.
ocal businesses in LaGrange such as Spacebound, West Roofing Systems Inc. and Faith Baptist Church along with personal donations from group members contributed to the fund total.
“We’ve wanted to do something with Good Knights for a few months, but it escaped my mind,” Sabo said. “Once I was reminded about it, we went to work.”
The work was minimal and the payoffs far exceed what went into planning, she said.
“It’s such a simple thing to do, and it’s going to make such a difference,” Sabo said.
For two days, Sabo and Bev Fox, third vice president of the LaGrange Lions Club, spent hours going to Walmart, Target and Kohl’s to find the best bedding for the lowest price.
The two went from store to store price matching and researching what would be best for the children.
“This is something we really wanted to do,” Sabo said. “Many of us are parents and grandparents, and thinking of children sleeping on the food is heartbreaking.
“But we know we were able to get kids beds.”
During the drop- off, Sabo praised Good Knights for being a nonprofit and for using 100% of the funds donated to build beds for children and provide them with blankets, sheets, mattress protectors and pillows.
“Not a penny goes anywhere other than the beds for children,” she said.” “Everything is freeLof charge to the families.
“We like to help people. And the best way to help people is to give them what they need for free.”
With the winter coming up, Sabo said she hopes Good Knights receives more donations.
“I’m hoping this encourages people and organizations to donate,” she said. “It’s so simple, but it really is such a huge thing.”