Mothers celebrated at shopping event

The Truth Church in Shafter celebrated Mother's Day on Friday with a blood drive and pop-up event.

Pastor Frank Cabrera said they had planned to hold a blood drive and decided to add the pop-up event to honor the mothers in the community.

Simon Cabrera, of Houchins Blood Bank, said that the drive was one of the busiest they have had this season, with a steady flow of donors.

"When [the pandemic] first started last year, it was a very difficult time, but we eventually got comfortable with the procedures and policies that we needed to observe to hold a drive," Simon Cabrera said about hosting blood drives during the pandemic.

The vendors each donated an item and the donors that gave blood received a raffle ticket.

There were vendors selling a variety of items from clothing and lotions to soaps and jewelry.

One of the vendors was a family affair, with Megan and Misty Mannes selling Scentsy products, from plain warmers to elaborately decorated warmers.

"The business is actually my daughter's idea," said Mannes. "We started collecting Scentsy Buddies, beginning with a stuffed frog. We were fighting over the frog and realized that we loved the product too. My daughter said that she would like to be a Scentsy Girl and the adventure began."

Mannes said that her daughter does the majority of the work and it has been valuable in teaching her responsibility and time management.

Journee and Aubree Porter sold decorated coffee mugs, key chains, and an assortment of items. They also sold some men's soap that was created by their dad.

Another vendor that created her own designs and products was Lynette Stoeppler. Stoeppler is a photographer and creates greeting cards using the photos that she takes.

"I do all of the photography for the cards," said Stoeppler. Stoeppler had photos from people, animals, scenery and landscapes.

"I can create a card for about any occasion or reason," said Stoeppler.

Pastor Frank Cabrera said that he was very happy with the turnout and that they could help the community honor its mothers and help save lives at the same time.

"It was a perfect marriage, holding the Mother's Day pop-up while helping out the blood bank with the great work that they do," said Pastor Frank Cabrera.