Elgin church will give coffee for cans

If you’re hankering for Starbucks coffee on Saturday morning, you can get a cup at an Elgin church — for the price of a good deed.

The “Coffee for Cans” food drive takes place 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Elgin Bible Church, 1580 E. Chicago St. The goal is to fill a semitrailer with canned goods that will be donated to Hanover Township’s food pantry, said church Pastor Rev. Timothy Beam.

The event is part of EBC Days, the church’s annual charitable drive, but it’s the first that involves the larger community, he said.

“Our goal in this thing is to engage the community to help itself. I don’t want this to be about Elgin Bible Church at all. We’re not going to hand out fliers or anything,” he said. “This is simply about empowering the community to help itself.”

The church’s initial plan was to hold a large country line dance in the parking lot to set a record in the Guinness Book of World Records, Beam said. The largest line dance included 17,200 participants who did a traditional dance in China; there is no record for a country line dance, he said.

“By the time we decided to do this, there was no time to set a record,” he said. “We tried (to contact) TV stations, radio stations, but nothing. Next year we’re thinking very seriously about setting a record.”

Saturday’s country line dance will take place inside the church, which is also celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend. Other events planned are a “remembrance” open house 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, and speaker Justin Kron from Chosen People Ministries in Chicago during the 9:30 a.m. service Sunday.

The items most needed by Hanover Township are: macaroni and cheese, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned corn, soup, spaghetti noodles and sauce, cereal, pancake mix and syrup, hamburger helper, tuna helper, peanut butter and jelly, instant potatoes, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, and personal care items including shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap, and female products.