Family turns good deed into win-win

It's not an easy situation when someone offers you money for doing something that was kind and right.

But five Elgin siblings, who regularly shovel for two elderly ladies in their east-side neighborhood, made it a true win-win Friday.

Tom Majka and his sons, Christopher, 18, and Curtis, 13, along with his three stepchildren, donated $25 in money from shoveling along with four bags of food at the Elgin Symphony Orchestra office to be sent to local food pantries.

"They're good kids. I've very proud of them," said Majka's wife, Karen Narayan, whose children, 13-year-old twins Issac and Kathleen, and Jacob, 10, also shoveled. "Usually they don't accept money. But this time (the neighbors) were very forceful about it. They felt uncomfortable taking it, so they decided to donate it."

The family, along with Narayan's mother, Sandra Haggard, were planning to see an ESO show at the Hemmens Cultural Center next year and had donated a bunch of food in exchange for ticket vouchers.

"They didn't want to take the money. They wanted to think of something nice to do with it," Haggard said of her grandchildren.

The ESO voucher program is part of an ongoing effort to restock local food pantries. For more information, call (847) 888-4000.