The El Barrio Lions Club wraps up another year of community support and outreach this December, and HPPR sat down with Media Marketing Chair James Campos, Vice President Tony Jimenez, and founding member Juan Jimenez to talk about some of their programs, their upcoming "Tamaliza" event, and how the club got started. To hear the full interview, click the link at the top of the page.
Campos explained the origin of El Barrio Lions Club and talked about the group's core values . “The club was chartered in 2021; a social media post went around the neighborhood, and a group of guys came together to start the club in December of that year. This is actually our fourth year in operation.” Campos said. “The core values are service, excellence, diversity, collaboration, integrity and innovation. Throughout the Texas Panhandle, there are over 35 clubs throughout district T-1, and there are Lions Clubs also throughout western Kansas part of district 17-K, as well as the Oklahoma Panhandle in district Three Northwest. If you’re not really familiar with the Lions Club, check into your local chapter, because I guarantee you they're doing something great in your community.”
One of the programs the El Barrio Lions Club offers is a ramp-building initiative, helping individuals with disabilities maintain their mobility at home through providing material and labor assistance with the expensive, time-consuming task of building wheelchair ramps. “That's something that we've been doing for a couple years now,” Juan Jimenez said. “I think we have done a little bit over 40 this year and over 100 since we started.”
The club also offers a youth program called the Leo Club, giving high-school students an avenue for participating in volunteer work. “We actually just started the Leo Club in September.” Campos said “That's a group of students from Caprock and Palo Duro who have come together to charter the club. It's the first Leo Club in Amarillo, but there are Leo Clubs throughout the Canyon Independent School District at Canyon, Randall and West Plains high schools. Now, students throughout Amarillo ISD can come check out the El Barrio Leo Club. They meet once a month at the Wesley Community Center.”
In addition to the Leo Club, Campos talked about how they assisted the Caprock Longhorn Marching Band at the recent High Plains Marching Competition. “This past October, we fed the Caprock High School Longhorn Marching Band at the High Plains Marching Festival, and that was amazing. Thanks to Pizza Planet for donating, I don't know how many pizzas; I would say it was close to about 60 pizzas. Those kids were hungry! We got them set up, then they ate and went to finals and did a great job Congratulations to them! The drum major is actually our Leo Club president, and he was awarded outstanding drum major.”
The El Barrio Lions Club also hosts a Tamaliza event, now in its second year. “Last year, we made about 300 tamales.” Campos said “This year, we're thinking about doing about 500 tamales, and we'll be doing it at the Wesley Community Center on December 13 at 10:00 AM CT. We're also going to have Lotería (a traditional Mexican board game of chance), and we will be taking applications for new members. Come to the Tamaliza, join the club, play loteria, and maybe win some free prizes!”
The El Barrio Lions Club meets monthly at the Wesley Community Center, 1615 S. Roberts. More information on the El Barrio Lions Club, their ramp building projects, and the upcoming tamaliza can be found at their Facebook page.
If you have an upcoming event you would like the public to be aware of, we encourage you to check out our community calendar! It's the place to visit for up-to-date information on what's coming up all across the High Plains!
