Goose poop put to good use at Rotary fundraiser
It's hard to imagine how goose droppings would benefit anyone.
However, this Saturday at the Libertyville Sports Complex, the Sunrise Rotary Club will hold its fifth annual Goose Drop Festival, a fundraiser for 20 area charities.
Plastic geese will be dropped from a 120-foot boom with small parachutes. The geese, with numbers corresponding to $50 raffle tickets, will land in the vicinity of five targets. The one closest to the grand prize target will net $35,000 for the holder of the appropriate raffle ticket.
Second prize is $3,500, and third through fifth prizes are $1,000 each. Sam Rinella, the event chairman, said that 2,330 raffle tickets were sold last year. If more are sold this year, the money netted through the raffle could exceed $60,000.
"In the spring, we have a donor dinner where we give the money away to local charities," Rinella said. "One hundred percent of the money is given to charities."
One of those charities is Mother's Trust Foundation, which was founded by Lake Forest resident Barbara Monsor 13 years ago to help children where other organizations were not available to offer assistance.
Cheri Richardson, the executive director for the organization, said Monsor started the program "to help a girl who was trying to remove herself from a gang situation. That was the very first grant that was made."
Richardson said they provide everything from clothing to musical instruments to cribs for infants who don't have beds.
"We really, really appreciate the support of the Libertyville Sunrise Rotary," Richardson said. "They've been supporting us since 2003. They understand our mission."
Diane Chapin is the director for the Free Spirits Special Olympics Softball team, another beneficiary of the Goose Drop Festival. Chapin said the Free Spirits are an independent team, whereas most other teams are connected to an area park district or other official entity.
"We pay for all the uniforms and equipment," Chapin said. "We use the funding (from Rotary) to reduce the cost of registration. I also have access to scholarships for players."
She said her 18-player team, comprised of players with a wide variety of skill levels, won the championship at the Special Olympics District Playoffs in Deerfield this year. Any developmentally delayed athlete can join the team as long as they're in the right age group and can run the bases.
"We really appreciate what the Rotary does for us," Chapin said. "We receive no funds from anyone except the Rotary."
Rinella said the festival is free and includes four bands. Two of the bands are comprised of area teenagers. Final Warning, an all-girls band from Libertyville High School, is playing at 4:30 p.m., and Time to Limbo is playing at 5:15 p.m. MellonCougar, which plays at 6:30 p.m., is a John Mellencamp tribute band. Henneberry is a party rock band that plays at 8:45 p.m.
The event also includes a food court, featuring Mickey Finn's cuisine and beer garden, as well as games and a dunk tank.
"We're going to recruit some celebrity volunteers to work the dunk tank," Rinella said. "We're basically just looking for people to come out to the event and for people to buy raffle tickets."
Local charities benefitting include Bear Magic in Lake County, Career Resource Center, CATS Special Olympics Swim Team, Community Youth Organization, David Adler Cultural Center, Families in Touch, Free Spirits Special Olympics, Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, HealthReach Inc., I-Plus Lake County, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, Interfaith Chaplaincy Services, Lake County Center for Independent Living, Lake County Haven, Libertyville High School TOPCATS Mentoring, Maristella, Mother's Trust Foundation, Senior Council of Libertyville, Youth and Family Counseling and Youth Conservation Corps.
Some international groups also benefit, Rinella said.
The cost of the festival itself is covered by sponsors including i-pets.com, Zengeler Cleaners, Libertyville Bank and Trust, Dennis F Kratohwil CFP, Ace Hardware in Libertyville, HLP Systems Inc., Advocate Condell Medical Center, Mickey Finn's Brewery, Goose Island Brewery and ILLINI HI REACH.
Rinella said Rotary member Howard Jaffe came up with the idea of the Goose Drop Festival.
"It was a unique way to do a fundraiser," Rinella said. "We had been doing dinners with silent auctions but those had gone a little stale."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Fifth annual Goose Drop Festival</p>
<p class="News"><b>When:</b> 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21</p>
<p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Libertyville Sports Complex, Route 45 and Peterson Road</p>
<p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Raffle tickets are $50; admission is free </p>
<p class="News"><b>More info:</b> <a href="http://goosedropping.com" target="new">goosedropping.com</a> </p>