Rotary fundraiser helps feed Dist. 54 and 211 kids on weekends

Members of the Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates Rotary Club are gearing up for their major fundraiser next weekend, the Classic. But it won't be all fun and games.

Club members use money raised through the event to support some major organizations in the suburbs, including WINGS, Kenneth Young Center, Clearbrook, Alexian Brothers Women & Children's Hospital and GiGi's playhouse.

Another passion is making sure area students have enough food to eat, especially on weekends when they're out of school.

Rotary helps fund two food pantries at schools in Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54, the Blessings in a Backpack program in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211, and the newly opened Hawk's Nest at Hoffman Estates High School.

"We feel it's a commitment to literacy," says Eileen Higginbotham, community service chair for the club. "If you're hungry, you can't learn."

This year's Classic drew the support of Brian Little, human resources director for Zurich North America insurance, who agreed to serve as honorary co-chair. Rotarians also will recognize Mitch Bruski, executive director of the Kenneth Young Center, with their lifetime achievement award.

The Classic takes place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Meadows Club, 2950 W Golf Road in Rolling Meadows.

Empowering local families remains the club's focus.

Hawk's Nest moved to its new, expanded location last fall, and school officials describe it as an extension of the backpack program, which sends students home with enough food to last through the weekend.

Students may visit Hawk's Nest on Fridays, and select from its shelves stocked with canned goods and snacks, toiletries, school supplies and gently used clothing items.

Partnerships with some of the major stores in the area, such as Whole Foods, provide fresh food for students, including fruit, vegetables and bread.

"Our numbers (of students) have doubled from last year," says Jeff Davis, the attendance interventionist at Hoffman Estates High School, who coordinates Hawk's Nest.

Principal Jim Britton approached Rotary members about helping to relocate Hawk's Nest to a more visible space in the school, and expand its facilities with a refrigerator and freezer.

Britton says the need for the program reflects the changing economic climate he has seen over the last several years. The number of students who qualify to receive free and reduced lunch has risen to nearly 50 percent of the student population at Hoffman Estates High School, up from 15 percent seven years ago.

"Families are struggling," Britton says. "In the suburbs, it's a little quieter. They don't know who to approach for help and often school is the first place they turn."

Davis commends Rotary Club members for their ongoing support. While food drives in the school help to stock the shelves with nonperishable items, funds from Rotary and some of its partnerships finance gift cards for families, as well as toiletries, school supplies and healthy snacks that students like.

"Without the Rotary's donations," Davis adds, "it would be challenging to afford all of this."