Even in tough times, Dundee Twp. residents' generosity shines
This year, the fight wasn't even close; Dundee Township's generosity won handily.
When jobless residents needed food to put on their tables or gifts to put under their holiday trees, residents shared what they had. Just ask the folks who are in charge of providing for the less fortunate whose numbers swelled this year. Go to the FISH Food Pantry in Carpentersville and volunteers will say their shelves were never empty because of the kindness of strangers.
"This year they was a desperate demand for food," said FISH President Marilyn Mack. "We've seen more families come through here than we ever had, but we never turned anyone away. We've always have enough to give something to everyone."
More than 5,000 families knocked on FISH's doors in the Meadowdale Shopping Center this year. They represented more than 25,000 people who received free cereal, pasta, soup and milk.
"I've heard other food pantries were having a hard time keeping up with the demand but not us. People have always come through for us." Mack said. "We even had more volunteers helping us this year. Local residents who were out of work offered their help because they didn't want to sit at home and worry about money."
Lisa Scott can attest to everything Mack says. She works for the Northern Illinois Food Bank and has seen the demand and the tug of way Fox Valley residents have been playing with economic despair and generosity. Some pantries in Elgin and other communities have uncomfortably low.
"We provide some of the food items for the pantries," she said. "But private donations make up the bulk of what they give out. The generosity in Dundee Township has stood out this year."
And that generosity didn't always come in the form of food. In the past four weeks, Spring Hill Mall shoppers have dipped in their pockets and bought items that will be given to needy Fox Valley residents. Fourteen social services agencies, such as the Boys' and Girls' Club of Dundee Township and the Community Crisis Center, wrote the items on cards. Mall employees placed them on three giving trees.
The shoppers took the cards, bought the items and returned them to the mall. Volunteers from the agencies will pick them up and deliver them for Christmas.
"Each agency provided 120 tags with the description of items men, women and children wanted and needed for Christmas," said Amy Prew, mall manager. "On Friday, we put the last of the cards on the trees. We've already gone through a big pile of them. We've never run into a problem of the tags not being taken.
"It seems like the generosity never runs out."
The same is true for other fundraising programs at churches or those sponsored by the Rutland Dundee Firefighters' Association. Each December, Santa and the firefighters drive through neighborhoods in Gilberts and Sleepy Hollow collecting toys and food for the growing number of people in financial needs.
The number of donations filled a few ambulances.
"We live in a wonderful area," Mack said. "This has been a tough year for so many people, but there never seems to be a shortage of generosity around here."