Basket Brigade celebrates 10th anniversary of delivering Thanksgiving joy to 1,800 families

Local charity gears up to deliver Thanksgiving dinners to 1,800 families in the Chicago suburbs

The secret to living is giving. A simple principle that is the guiding force behind the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago. For the past 10 years, the Basket Brigade has delivered thousands of complete Thanksgiving dinners, and a message of hope, to local area families-in-need.

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago was founded by Brian and Cherish Walsh in 2015 with the mission “to put the Giving back into Thanksgiving.” Each year, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Basket Brigade puts together a giant event, that brings together hundreds of volunteers who come together to assemble and personally deliver these dinners to local families-in-need who were nominated by a variety of sources including private nominations on the Basket Brigade’s website as well as names provided by other local nonprofits, churches, day cares, schools and other social service organizations.

“Each basket contains enough food to feed a family of five,” Basket Brigade Treasurer Eric Hartmann said. “And the thought that we are literally bringing Thanksgiving to over 5,000 people this year is absolutely amazing.”

“Another really cool part of the process,” Brian Walsh said, “that we focus on is the growth of the giver, as they are personally delivering the meal to the family-in-need. The impact of seeing how their volunteering is directly impacting the lives of these families-in-need is amazing to see.”

“We really try to make the overall experience of the Thanksgiving basket to be both functional and inspirational,” co-founder Cherish Walsh said. “And we definitely want our kids to play a big role in that, so we have always welcomed scouts and youth groups to help out, so that we are instilling the heart of the giver in the next generation.”

This year’s event will be at Harper College in Palatine, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 23-24.

The Basket Brigade board spends most of the year planning, fundraising, organizing and finding the recipients.

“We work closely with our communities to find the volunteers and to solicit the necessary donations, both private and corporate,” Brian Walsh said. “We have also been able to partner up with many cool organizations, nonprofits, and civic organizations to identify families in-need. It is really a team effort.”

“The whole process is an emotional and uplifting one,” Cherish Walsh said. “And the stories and the notes of thanks that we receive from the recipients, and the reports we receive back from the drivers of the joy they witness, the people literally jumping for joy, praising God, and thanking them over and over again, are truly inspirational.”

“The message that we strive to pass along to our volunteers, our children, and the community is that the secret to living is giving,” Brian Walsh said.

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago is based entirely on the kindness and generosity of their donors and corporate sponsors. This year’s Premier Sponsors include State Farm Insurance, Waller Helms Advisors, Midwest Utility Sales, the Standfast Group, Streamwood Behavioral Health System, Harper College and Allegra Marketing in Palatine.

The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago is a 501 (c)(3), a division of The Lorraine M. Walsh Memorial Foundation.

To learn more, visit basketbrigade.net, facebook.com/basketbrigadesuburbanchicago or youtu.be/AzTUOLuEgYQ.