South Elgin Lions help 200 families

About 200 needy families won’t have to worry about not having enough food for the holidays this year thanks to the South Elgin Lions Club.

The club expects to distribute between six and seven tons of food this year to families that were suggested for help by Elgin Area School District U-46. The club is also passing out donated coats and toys.

The program has been going on for “longer than I know,” said Leo Snyder, the Lions Club past district governor who has been in charge of it for the past five years. “Every year it gets bigger.”

Food is collected from donation bins at schools and local businesses, while the Lions Club fills the gaps by buying food and some toys with about $5,000 in donations that had been received. Many of the coats being passed out this year came from a coat drive by the Kane County Cougars.

Snyder says the opportunity to give back makes his Christmas every year. He tells a story of a family that asked to be on the list one year. When asked how many were in the family, Snyder recalls the reply from a younger family member that cut right to the chase, “Me, my mother, my little brother and my little sister. My dad died two weeks ago and there ain’t no food in the house.”

“That starts choking you up right away,” Snyder said. “Being able to help is very, very rewarding.”