Kokopelli Club Holds Can Caravan

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

The Kokopelli ATV Club in Mesquite donated approximately 3,000 pounds of food to the Virgin Valley Food Bank on Friday morning, Sept. 3.

All 150 Kokopelli ATV Club members and their friends have been collecting for the food drive since July. All of that food has been stored at C & J Shutters and Blinds. C&J owner, Jackie Burton, is a club member and was happy to offer some storage space to the club for this cause.

So on Friday morning the parking lot in front of Burton’s shop was full of ATVs. Their owners were hard at work loading them down with non-perishable food items. The ATV’s, and an SUV pulling a flatbed trailer filled with stacked can goods, caravanned through the City of Mesquite all the way to the Virgin Valley Food Bank on S. First Street to make their donation delivery.

“Club member Ron Parr suggested last year we collect food to help people who were out of work because of COVID,” explained Dominic Oliveto, President of the Kokopelli club. “It went so well that we are doing it again this year. We have gathered much more than we did last year.”

Club Member Leslie Fox said she was pleased to be part of such a community-minded organization. “This year it became sort of a competition between us to get the most donations,” she said. “In addition to the food, we also raised $2,000 in cash.”

The club took that money to Smith’s Market in Mesquite which gave them a deep discount to purchase more food to add to the collected donations.

Volunteer Joshua Mangas was on hand at the food bank to accept the food. He was minding the facility while Virgin Valley Food Bank Director, Leslie Montgomery was out of town.
“The Kokopelli ATV Club have supported the Virgin Valley Food Bank with a generous donation again!” said Montgomery in a later interview. “What a blessing!”

Kokopelli Club member and volunteer food drive coordinator Bob Lopez said, “Our members really stepped up to the plate and reached out. I am proud to be a part of this Club, they always help the community.”

Kokopelli ATV Club community involvement has helped clean up areas along the Virgin River, trailways, and many popular desert areas. The club held an ATV ride on Veterans Day last year to raise money for the Mesquite Veterans Center. The club also works with the Salvation Army and other non-profits in the area.