Trivia Night at Randall Oaks to raise money for food pantry

The New Friends and Neighbors Club of Dundee has come up with a way to turn supporting the local FISH Food Pantry into a party. On Friday, members will hold their third trivia night and dress in beach attire.

A "Surf's Up" theme will surround teams of local residents who will vie for the title of most knowledgeable on songs, singing groups and movies involving sand and surf. To register, contestants are asked to pay $25 each and brush up on their trivia.

"Trivia night has proved to be very successful for us," said Nancy Miles, club member and party coordinator. "This is the third year NFN has held it. We used to hold a bake sale during Heritage Fest, but we had to worry about the weather and how much we were going to sell. Now, we hold the fundraiser indoors, and weather is not a problem."

Last year's trivia netted $3,000 for the Carpentersville-based pantry. It was held when FISH volunteers sorely needed the money to prepare for the high-demand winter months.

"We have 80 people signed up this year (for trivia night)," Miles said. "The night will be a lot of fun."

Those 80 people will be answering questions at the Randall Oaks Golf Course. Spectators are not invited, Miles said. The teams will have to work by themselves with no help from spectators.

Raffle tickets will also be sold during the contest. Prizes include wine baskets, a weekend in Door County (Wisconsin), and gift cards to local restaurants.

The New Friends and Neighbors Club of Dundee is a spin off from the local Welcome Wagon. Twenty members from East and West Dundee and surrounding areas make up the group.

"We support FISH because its volunteers provide such a wonderful service to the local community," Miles said. "They are a great group of people. "

FISH volunteers think the same of NFN club members, said Mary Graziano, FISH president. Without the monetary support, FISH volunteers would have to look harder for funds to pay for food that is not donated. They also would have to look for money to pay for the pantry's utilities.

FISH is located in the Meadowdale Shopping Center. It provides food to residents of East and West Dundee, Carpentersville and Sleepy Hollow. Each month, the pantry serves thousands of residents.

Its doors are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and on Wednesday nights after 6 p.m.

Lines at the pantry are always long. In the late fall and winter, they are longer with families whose breadwinners have been laid off from seasonal jobs.

"Trivia night comes at an important time for FISH," Miles said. "That's why we planned it at this time of year."

NFN members hold other fundraisers throughout the year for such organizations as the Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin, the Community Crisis Center in Elgin, and the PADS shelter.

For information about NFN or Trivia Night, call Nikki Kuhlmann at (847) 404-3765.

For details about the pantry, call (847) 428-4357.