RTA Gives Menifee Boys & Girls Club New Set of Wheels

Hundreds of kids will be traveling in style to the new Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley thanks to a vehicle donation program that is giving new life to old buses.

On Monday, the club took delivery of a 2007 Ford Starcraft Allstar van as part of the Riverside Transit Agency’s (RTA) vehicle donation program that connects buses and vans with non-profi t groups. The vehicles have exceeded their recommended service life and are no longer capable of remaining in RTA’s active fleet, but are in good condition and equipped with amenities such as wheelchair lifts.

Boys & Girls Board Chair Sue Kristjansson, a former Menifee City Councilwoman, said the white van, which seats up to 12 people and has space for three wheelchairs, will come in handy for transporting children who are in the club’s before- and after-school programs to and from school.

“This new vehicle will go a long way in giving kids access to our services,” she said. “Especially for working parents, this bus is going to make travel to and from our facility a breeze. We are so appreciative of this generous donation and intend to use it to its full potential.”

The Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley opened its doors on December 14 at 26301 Garbani Road at the site of the shuttered Menifee Elementary School and just west of Menifee Valley Middle School.

There are four Boys & Girls clubs across Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore, but Kristjansson said she saw a strong need for such a club in her hometown, adding that “Menifee was long overdue for some quality activities for kids on an ongoing basis, a place that provides sports, enrichment, educational and life-skills programs and overall, just gives kids a safe and fulfilling place to be.”

Riverside County District Five Supervisor Marion Ashley and Menifee Deputy Mayor Wally Edgerton, who sit on the RTA Board of Directors, helped facilitate the vehicle donation.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to put this vehicle to good use for a truly worthy cause,” Ashley said.

“We are proud to be part of something that has the potential to affect so many lives.”

Said Edgerton, “RTA is putting tax-payer dollars to good use by giving these vehicles a longer, more productive life. We are honored to propel this new club in the right direction.”

—News release submitted by Bradley Weaver, spokesman for RTA