By Sammi SLAYBACK

Early birds gathered at Rosemont Middle School on Saturday morning for what is hoped to be the first annual burrito breakfast. Hosted by Crescenta Valley High School’s Key Club, the Academy of Science and Medicine, and Rosemont Middle School’s Camp Firework, the breakfast was a fundraiser to support various health organizations that work to eliminate deadly diseases, prevent teen pregnancy and address pediatric trauma.

Bringing both their appetites and donations, parents and students came to the Rosemont cafeteria to support the causes. Food tickets were given out at the side entrance of the school near the cafeteria. At $5 a ticket, the Key Club had hoped to raise a substantial amount for its fundraiser.

For their $5, patrons got a breakfast burrito along with coffee and other beverages. Breakfast burritos were distributed in an assembly-line fashion, letting each customer make their burrito to fit their liking.

“It took a lot of time to plan the burrito breakfast,” said Kiana Tom, one of the three head organizers of the event. “We just wanted to do something creative, since the pancake breakfast has been done so many times.”

After all the planning had been done and as the date of the event approached, there were many helping hands to ensure that it would run smoothly. Members of the Key Club offered their assistance in setting up and distributing the breakfast items, with members volunteering their time. Everyone was assigned a task, making every volunteer an integral part of what turned out to be a well-oiled machine.

One volunteer, Jaeho Lee, was given the task of serving the coffee and beverages. He explained that the seemingly small contribution helped the whole morning flow easier, making it more fun and less stressful.

“I thought the breakfast was pretty successful, but it was also fun,” said Lee. “I love community service, so it was my pleasure to help.”

As it turned out, Lee was correct in his positive analysis of the fundraiser. At the end of the morning, the fundraiser had sold 670 tickets, drawn in over 300 customers, and made approximately $3,400 in ticket sales and donations.

Despite all the time it took, Tom spoke for her fellow organizers, Laura Rivera and Mina Pashayi, when saying they hope to continue this creative spin on a traditional fundraiser in the coming years.

  Mary Okeefe, Sammi SLAYBACK