Latte Built hosts toy gathering charity event

Three groups—Latte Built Gym, the Matua Riders Motorcycle Club, and the 4×4 Holics—filled a pickup truck with toys that they the donated to the Toys for Tots program of the U.S. Marines Corps, which is being coursed through the Saipan Young Professionals on Saipan.

Yesterday, the riders club and the 4×4 Holics rode around the island in a convoy before making their way to the Latte Built Gym for the gym’s first Toys for Tots charity event.

According to Latte Built Gym owner Derrick Cutting, he and his wife wanted to give back to the community this Christmas season after just recently relocating to a bigger facility and they decided to host a toys, yoga, barbecue, and beer charity event.

Cutting told Saipan Tribune it cost approximately $2,000 to prepare for the event altogether but most of the preparations were accomplished through donations from supporters and multiple agencies.

“A lot were donations from a lot of big companies. All the food were donated by a lot of the members of my gym. …Others like TanHoldings, Bridge Capital, they donated cash so that we could use it for the event,” he added.

Yesterday’s event started at 12pm and ended at 5pm.

According to Cutting, they started off with a yoga class. Participants were then able to choose a pint of their preferred beer, courtesy of the Saipan Brewing Co. The yoga participants were later joined by the MRMC and 4×4 Holics for a barbecue.

MRMC president Ed Flores said this was the first time the club was invited to an event like Latte Built’s charity fundraiser an, according to him, they were all excited to take part. “We liked the event, there were good intentions for the kids,” he said.

Flores said that this isn’t their first stop of donations. The group also donated gifts to the Man’amko Center, to the children confined at the Commonwealth Health Center, and to children of different villages around Saipan.

“We like to help the community because we are a community-oriented group,” said MRMC vice president Sandy Tudela.

MRMC member and Latte Built Gym member Marie Salas Igitol said that when Cutting discussed the idea of the charity event with her, she told the MRMC about it right away and, according Igitol, they immediately got on board.

Cutting hopes to host the event annually.