Penguin adoption a help to food pantry

To the editor: The Village of Mount Prospect would like to thank the owners and customers of Millie's Hallmark and Neat N Cool Gifts for helping to make the holiday season a little brighter for over 199 needy Mount Prospect families.

Bob Dooley and Bill Reddy, owners of Millie's Hallmark and Neat N Cool Gifts were getting so many requests for the limited availability, highly sought, TY Plush penguins that the stores used in their holiday window decorations, they had the idea to turn it into something positive for the community.

The stores offered customers the ability to adopt the penguins in the stores' holiday window decorations. Penguins could be adopted for $30 or $10, and 100 percent of the proceeds were donated to the Mount Prospect Emergency Food Pantry. On Dec. 24, the "parents" picked them up, complete with adoption certificate.

"The remarkable thing about the program is how our customers really stepped up to help people right here in our own Village," said Bill Reddy. "The response to the program was so great, I just wish we had more penguins and more time. We could have raised even more money!"

A total of $1,600 was donated to the Village's Emergency Food Pantry. The money will be turned into gift cards to local grocery stores that the families will receive with their gift baskets. The gift cards will enable needy families to purchase perishable goods for their holiday celebrations.

"We are so excited about this program," said Nancy Morgan, director of Mount Prospect's Human Services Department, who administers the food pantry. "This has brought our cause to a whole new group of people. Patrons of Millie's Hallmark and Neat N Cool Gifts may have been unaware of our programs to help needy residents, and so this clever Adopt a Penguin program brought awareness to the public as well as helped our neediest residents."

"People are already asking what we are going to do for next year," said Reddy. "We look forward to helping the community again with this important program."

The Village of Mount Prospect Human Services Department administers several emergency assistance programs including the emergency food pantry, holiday meal programs, the Star Fund holiday gift program for children, and the Toys for Kids program.

Individuals or families must complete a needs assessment to determine whether they qualify for assistance. For details about these programs, call (847) 870-5680.

Nancy Morgan, director

Human Services Dept.

Mount Prospect