Still giving in tough times
It's nice to know that even in troubled economic times, our communities still flourish with folks willing to help those truly in need.
The St. Charles-based Northern Illinois Food Bank, which received $60,000 in grants this month, surely appreciates it too.
The funding arrived in the form of a $35,000 grant from the WGN Radio 720 Kids Fund and a $25,000 grant from the DuPage Community Foundation. Both will go a long way in keeping food on the tables of struggling families across 13 Northern Illinois counties, including Kane and DuPage.
WGN's contribution will help provide more than 100,000 nutritious lunches to some 3,000 low-income children in the summer Youth Nutrition Program. The foundation's donation is a matching grant, representing 50 cents for every dollar of food acquired by 38 satellite food pantries in DuPage County.
Topping off the good grant news is the fact the food bank was rated for the fifth year in a row an "exceptional" charity by the national Charity Navigator network. Only 3 percent of the country's charity groups have received this four-star rating for so many consecutive years.
"We're very excited about it," said H. Dennis Smith, executive director and chief executive officer of Northern Illinois Food Bank, in an interview last week. "As the (regional) need has grown, we've been fortunate to be able to meet it."
Have a heart (screen): If you're uninsured or underinsured and haven't had your blood pressure, cholesterol or heart checked for a while, here's a chance to put your mind at ease.
On July 17 from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Geneva's Delnor-Community Hospital will provide free heart screens at the Salvation Army in St. Charles, 1710 S. Seventh Ave. The free event is open to first-time participants in Delnor's Know Your Heart Program.
During the screening, you'll be asked to fill out a questionnaire about your lifestyle, will have your blood pressure and body mass index checked, and have your cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose checked. You'll also have a one-on-one counseling session to identify and address individual health risks and will get the chance to participate in a follow-up screening in six months.
Participants must be at least 18 years old, fast for 12 hours before the screening and have an appointment. For registration information, call (630) 208-3999.
Volunteers sought: If you think of going to parades, concerts and art shows as work, more power to you. The Downtown St. Charles Partnership calls it volunteering.
Whatever it is, you can learn more about it Saturday at the partnership's next Volunteer Information Session, from 9 to 10 a.m. at city hall, 2 E. Main St. The session aims to answer questions about what the partnership does, how it works and what volunteer opportunities are available at many of its popular events, including the annual Electric Christmas parade, Fine Art Show and Concerts in the Park series.
The partnership is looking for folks with a variety of backgrounds to help these events grow and to help ongoing efforts to promote the downtown business community.
"Volunteers are the core of the DSCP," President Sue McDowell said. "They truly care about strengthening downtown because they know how important it is to the quality of life for everyone in St. Charles. And they have a great time working together on their respective projects."
Saturday's session includes a light breakfast and coffee. To reserve a spot, call (630) 513-5386, extension 1.