Glen Ellyn Rotary Club spreads sunshine with citrus sale
Lots of vitamin C and a taste of fresh Florida sunshine soon will be on its way to Glen Ellyn, thanks to the efforts of the Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn.
Orders are being taken until Monday, Dec. 1, for the 22nd annual Citrus Sale fundraiser, and all proceeds will benefit local charitable causes.
According to Kurt Buchholz, citrus sale co-chairman, there is a reason why people keep coming back year after year to buy the sweet, juicy oranges and ripe, pink grapefruit.
"The fruit is good," Buchholz said. "But I think people see that it is a way for them to contribute. They know we're going to do good things with the money we raise."
Last year, the club raised $30,000 with the citrus sale, allowing the Glen Ellyn Rotary to award scholarships to students at Glenbard West and Glenbard South high schools, and enabling them to support local charitable organizations. The Rotary also assisted groups - including the DuPage Community Center, Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, Humanitarian Service Project, Peoples Resource Center, the Salvation Army and Wheaton Youth Outreach - with donations of more than 150 cases of fruit.
Buchholz said that on the order form, available on the Web site, there is a place where the purchaser can designate that some of the fruit may be donated to charity.
"People buy the fruit for their own consumption," he said. "But a significant portion of those same people donate fruit to the Salvation Army or to Peoples Resource Center."
The Rotary motto is "Service above Self," and the Glen Ellyn chapter has been serving the community since 1943. In addition to local recent charitable endeavors, including building the gazebo near the Prairie Path in downtown Glen Ellyn and improving the headquarters of Family Shelter Service, the club also has global goals. Rotary International is well known for its efforts to eradicate polio, but other efforts worldwide are less publicized.
"We bought a school bus in Africa," said Buchholz. "And we brought freshwater to a school in Bolivia." Vocational scholarships were given to needy students in Palo Alto, Mexico, and ambulances were purchased for Cuajimalpa, another village in Mexico.
The Rotary Club of Glen Ellyn meets at lunchtime Thursdays and has about 60 members of the community's business professionals, both men and women. The Web site describes the group as nonpolitical, nonreligious and open to all cultures, races and creeds.
Citrus fruit can be ordered by the case that equals almost a bushel. The cost is $28 per case, and full and half cases are available for $14.
The fruit makes a practical and sensible gift for a co-worker, friend, family or neighbors. And, according to Buchholz, the purchase of a consumable item makes sense. "It's good, quality fruit," he said.
Fruit pickup will take place at the College of DuPage loading dock from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.
Delivery can be arranged for orders of 10 cases or more.
For details, call Buchholz at (630) 469-4700, or for a printable order form, visit the Web site atglenellynrotary.org.