By Mary O’KEEFE

For 13 years the Early Rodders car group has donated items for the firefighters’ Spark of Love toy drive.

Early Rodders members are classic and hot rod vehicle enthusiasts who are seen at a lot of events throughout Crescenta Valley including the CV Chamber of Commerce Hometown Country Fair and the Montrose Annual Car Show.

Every Saturday, the Early Rodders meet in the parking lot of the Regal UA La Cañada theaters but once a year they turn that meeting of  “gear heads” into a meeting of Santa’s helpers. They fill their classic cars with toys and drive them to Los Angeles County Fire Dept. – Station 82. For eight years students and staff from St. Andrew Catholic School in Pasadena have donated many of the toys delivered to the fire station by the Early Rodders. 

Donation boxes were placed around the school where students, parents, teachers and staff could donate, said Raphael “Rocky” Domingo, St. Andrew principal.

“It makes me feel good to help,” said second grader Mason Alexander who was at the Regal UA La Cañada theaters parking lot recently to help deliver the gifts to the fire station.

Teacher Maria Rennard spearheads the collection of toys at the school.

“The school participates in a lot of service projects,” she said. “We start collecting after Thanksgiving.”

In November, the students at the school donated food to the St. Vincent de Paul food bank in LA and in October they donated teddy bears to the California Dept. of Social Services for children in foster care.

Domingo’s son, second grader Owen Domingo, was also at the parking lot to help with the toys.

“It makes me feel good to give,” Owen said. “And I like seeing the cars.”

Domingo said members of Early Rodders bring Santa to the school with a police escort.

“They do a really good [thing] for the school,” he said.

Glendale Fire Dept. Spark of Love also recently received toys, this time at Station 29 in Montrose. These were donated by the Armenian Community and Youth Center. The organization donates every year to the Spark of Love program. The youth from the Center brought the toys to firefighters who accepted them on behalf of the program. To find out more about what the Armenian Center does, and is doing, for the community, visit page 6.

  Mary Okeefe