Thanksgiving dinner will go on in Elgin

An Elgin Thanksgiving tradition might be changing venues this year, but certainly not the spirit of helping others.

This was to be the 25th year that St. Joseph Catholic Church held a Community Thanksgiving Dinner, a program that usually draws about 750 people.

But organizers had to cancel it because they didn't have someone to coordinate the event.

The folks at the Community Crisis Center in Elgin found out and hustled to move the event to the Hemmens Cultural Center, complete with a caterer.

"We pretty much decided there was a need for it in the community and we needed to pick it up," said Kari Albert-Sheppard, special events coordinator at Community Crisis Center.

It also didn't hurt that her mother, Rebecca, is the owner of Rebecca Albert Catering, which will handle the food duties that afternoon.

"(Rebecca) looked at me and said, 'You know what we have to do for Thanksgiving. We have to do it,'" Albert-Sheppard recalled.

Albert-Sheppard also noted the center received a significant donation from an anonymous benefactor, plenty of in-kind donations, help from the city securing the Hemmens, and more than 50 people who have lined up to volunteer.

Overall, the crisis center has distributed about 1,700 tickets for the meal, which will serve homeless and low-income families. Organizers expect some 1,200 people to turn out.

The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Hemmens, 100 Symphony Way. Organizers believe they have enough volunteers to dish out the 400 pounds of turkey breast, plus stuffing, potatoes, veggies and of course, desserts.

For more information or to make a monetary donation, call (847) 742-4088.

The Rev. John Earl, the pastoral administrator at St. Joseph's, said the previous coordinator for the dinner recently stepped back and church leaders couldn't find anyone to take on the task.

"The problem was we really didn't have a coordinator from our parish who was willing to take on the project," Earl said. "Really, you need a coordinator. One person has to coordinate all the facets. It's a big job."

Earl said he was not sure if St. Joseph would resume the dinner in 2009.

Albert-Sheppard said it's too early to tell whether the Crisis Center will continue the meal in 2009.

"We're going to look at it," she said. "I also think a larger group of community groups and volunteers might be the way to go."