By Jason KUROSU

one-block stretch of Foothill Boulevard featured two pancake breakfast fundraisers on Saturday morning, treating families to charitable opportunities and a chance for breakfast with family, friends and neighbors.

YMCA Tribes held its 57th annual pancake breakfast at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA in La Cañada. The Tribes program offers opportunities for fathers and their children to bond through activities sponsored by the YMCA, such as camping trips and other family events.

According to Craig Strazzeri, director of Healthy Living, YMCA Tribes sold at least 600 tickets prior to the event, but many more hungry patrons lined up on Saturday morning.

In addition to the tasty YMCA breakfast, there were games for the kids, including a beanbag toss and an inflatable enclosure. The Tribes also held a raffle for an iPad Mini.

Just down the block, a local troop of the Boy Scouts of America were hosting their own pancake breakfast at St. Luke’s of the Mountains, at the corner of Foothill and Rosemont. Troop 288, so named after American Legion Hall 288, participates in many activities and events supporting veterans, such as the ceremony for the new war memorial in Two Strike Park.

Assistant Scoutmaster Gabriel Inda, along with the boys from Troop 288, including his twin sons, took part in cooking up pancakes and sausages for the attendees.

“I’ve probably cooked nearly 1,000 pancakes today,” said Inda towards the end of the event.

Saturday morning’s event was intended to raise money for the troop, particularly for those who could not afford to go to the troop’s summer camp, Camp Marin-Sierra. Inda indicated the large need for fundraising of this kind, especially for Troop 288, “one of the largest Scout troops in the Verdugo Hills area.”

Inda said that the pancake breakfast is one of two annual events the troop holds, the other being a taco night, to be held later in the year.

  Jason Kurosu