Church does double duty service

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northwest suburbs, June 14 was a day of double-duty service to the community.

For the third straight year, they helped staff the Streamwood Stride, a 5K and 10K race put on by the Streamwood Park District. More than 40 volunteers of all ages helped with registration, passed out water, shuttled racers, and called out split times and words of encouragement.

Race director Lou Governale called the event "the best Streamwood Stride we have had. While it was a bit hectic on race day, we seemed to respond well to the challenges."

Meanwhile, in downstate Bloomington, 130 youth and leaders were helping to run the state Special Olympics. The volunteer effort was part of the church's annual Youth Conference, a three-day event that gives teens an opportunity to reach out to the community.

The youth were assigned to the different events and helped the athletes get where they needed to go. Maggie Dittburner, one of the Special Olympics organizers, told the volunteers, "I can't thank you enough for taking on such a project and bringing such a group together. You really were our saviors."

The church members are part of the Schaumburg Stake, a geographical unit that includes the area from Des Plaines to Bloomingdale to Huntley. The church has about 20,000 members in the Chicago area.