Pancakes for pennies in St. Charles to benefit veteran charity

Submitted by Meierhaus Company

Colonial Café & Ice Cream, 552 S. Randall Road in St. Charles, will sell pancakes for a penny Thursday, Nov. 8, and encourage guests to donate to Always Faithful, a nonprofit charitable organization that raises money to find and train dogs for disabled military veterans of all branches.

As an added incentive, Always Faithful will offer a puppy as the grand prize in a drawing to be held during the evening. The puppy is a 13-week-old female Bernese Mountain Dog, which may grow to weigh 130 pounds or more. Known for their calm, confident temperament, these dogs can provide great companionship.

Other prizes in the drawing include $100 gift cards from Best Buy and Walmart, plus more gift cards from Costco and others. Also in the drawing is an HD camera/video.

“We train the dogs according to the needs of the disabled veterans and then deliver the dog to them free,” said Abe Mashal, Always Faithful’s president and head trainer. Mashal is a former U.S. Marine K-9 handler who has trained hundreds of service and therapy dogs during his career.

“Each service dog requires three to six month of training, depending on the needs or disabilities of the veteran at a cost of between $12,000 and $20,000,” Mashal said. These costs include boarding, feeding, training, veterinary care and transportation. While the need is great, he said, current funding allows the organization to provide only seven to 10 dogs a month.

Colonial Café began Penny Pancake Days in 2008, thanking the community for its support. Colonial Café on Randall Road in St. Charles will serve all-you-can-eat pancakes for a penny each from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. to dine-in customers who also purchase a beverage.