Volunteers turn out to help others on Thanksgiving
Hundreds of volunteers turned out Thanksgiving morning for Crystal Lake's annual Community Harvest.
For the 26th year, people met near a Hobby Lobby to collect food and monetary donations, all of which went to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. Once the collection was complete, volunteers sorted out the food items and boxed them up, then they were trucked to the pantry.
Randy Leggee was one of the volunteers, and sees a need in the community to feed needy families. He has been volunteering at the Thanksgiving event for six years, and has seen more and more people coming out to help, to the point where the organizers have to have a large building to hold everyone.
During the day, volunteers and families from businesses, church groups, scout troops and other Crystal Lake organizations stopped by to sort the donated foods into bins. Items requested included canned pasta, canned meat, peanut butter, cereal, tomato paste, and other nonperishables. In 2015, Community Harvest collected $46,000 and about 68,000lb of food, and this year was on track to raise even more.
According to Bill Eich, president of the food pantry, he can buy $8 worth of food for every $1 donated. He also expressed his thanks to the volunteers and reminded everyone who might need help that the pantry is available to all.
Events like this can benefit if organizers work with flyer printing companies, which can create mailers to remind residents of special days.
For the 26th year, people met near a Hobby Lobby to collect food and monetary donations, all of which went to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. Once the collection was complete, volunteers sorted out the food items and boxed them up, then they were trucked to the pantry.
Randy Leggee was one of the volunteers, and sees a need in the community to feed needy families. He has been volunteering at the Thanksgiving event for six years, and has seen more and more people coming out to help, to the point where the organizers have to have a large building to hold everyone.
During the day, volunteers and families from businesses, church groups, scout troops and other Crystal Lake organizations stopped by to sort the donated foods into bins. Items requested included canned pasta, canned meat, peanut butter, cereal, tomato paste, and other nonperishables. In 2015, Community Harvest collected $46,000 and about 68,000lb of food, and this year was on track to raise even more.
According to Bill Eich, president of the food pantry, he can buy $8 worth of food for every $1 donated. He also expressed his thanks to the volunteers and reminded everyone who might need help that the pantry is available to all.
Events like this can benefit if organizers work with flyer printing companies, which can create mailers to remind residents of special days.