Man dressed in turkey costume to do '10 Town Turkey Trot' Oct. 9 to raise funds for holiday dinners
Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago's 10 Town Turkey Trot: Running dressed as a turkey from one town to the next to raise awareness for our efforts to feed local families in need this Thanksgiving.
Every year for the past 6 years, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago delivers complete Thanksgiving dinners to local area families-in-need a complete Thanksgiving dinner. Last year, at the height of the pandemic, we still managed to hit our goal, and actually blew past it, feeding 2,200 families last year.
This year, in preparation for our big event, and to raise awareness of our cause, board member Robert Swiderski is running through all 10 of the communities that we serve as we raise donations to feed 3,500 families a complete Thanksgiving dinner, delivered to their home!
The event is Saturday, Oct. 9. He'll be running from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. And, yes, he's running this 40 mile in a Turkey Costume!
In order to raise awareness in each of the 10 communities we serve, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago will be doing a 40-mile run, dressed as a turkey through each of the 10 communities we serve.
The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago delivers complete Thanksgiving dinners to local area families-in-need, providing both a meal and also a message of hope and support for our recipients, volunteer opportunities for hundreds of people annually, and an amazing opportunity to give back within your local communities.
The Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago was founded by Brian and Cherish Walsh with the mission - to put the "giving" back into Thanksgiving. Founded in memory of Brian's mother, Lorraine M. Walsh, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago combines aspects of fundraising and volunteerism along with personal growth.
Basket Brigade Assembly Day is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so that it arrives in plenty of time for the families receiving them to make their plans without the stress of trying to figure out how to pay for it all. In the past five years, the Basket Brigade's Assembly Day has relied on hundreds of volunteers to package the boxes.
"This year, in order to keep everybody safe, and in order to honor the gathering limits of Illinois, we are solely looking for delivery drivers to bring the meals to the homes," says Walsh.
Recipients are nominated by a variety of sources including private nominations on the Basket Brigade's website as well as names provided by other local nonprofits, churches, daycares, schools and other social service organizations.
In its previous five years, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago delivered complete Thanksgiving dinners to 268 families in 2016, 763 families in 2017, 1,335 families in 2018, 2,000 families in 2019, and 2,198 families in 2020, delivering food, a message of hope, and changing lives along the way.
"The message that we hope to pass along to our volunteers, our children, and the community,"concludes Brian Walsh, "is that the secret to LIVING is GIVING."
He will be departing Saturday, Oct. 9, at 7 a.m. from the Palatine police station, 595 N Hicks Road, then head to the Rolling Meadows Police Department, 3600 Kirchoff Road by 8:15 a.m.; Hoffman Estates Police Department, 411 W Higgins Road, at 10 a.m.; Schaumburg Police Department, 1000 W Schaumburg Road, at 10:45 a.m.; Streamwood Police Department, 401 Irving Park Road, at 12:15 p.m.; Hanover Park Police Department, 2011 W. Lake St., at 1:15 p.m.; Bartlett Police Department, 228 S. Main St., at 2 p.m.; South Elgin Police Department, 10 N. Water St. at 3:45 p.m.; Elgin Police Department, 151 Douglas Ave., at 5:15 p.m., and finishing up at 7 p.m. at Carpentersville Police Department, 1200 LW Besinger Drive.
You can help out by donating online at www.facebook.com/donate/404798357677016.
You can learn more about the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago at www.basketbrigade.net.
The secret to LIVING is GIVING.
For more information, email Robert Swiderski at robert@basketbrigade.net