Stamp Out Hunger: The Largest Single-Day Food Drive in America is Saturday

Will the National Association of Letter Carriers top last year’s food drive totaling more than 77.1 million pounds of non-perishable goods? That’s up to you!

McDonald's restaurants may proudly boast “Over a Billion Served,” but the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) can say the same when it comes to pounds of food collected for the needy. Since 1993 the NALC has collected more than one billion pounds of food through its annual nationwide event, "Stamp Out Hunger" – America’s largest single-day food drive. This Saturday, more than 1,500 NALC branches from every state, involving more than 10,000 cities and towns, will have more than 230,000 letter carriers collect non-perishable goods from people’s mailboxes. Here in Lake Zurich, carriers will be collecting food for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at St. Francis de Sales parish. Last year, Lake Zurich residents contributed about 1…

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Korrina Grom

7:37 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011

You're absolutely right, Judi! And the most important thing is that we all help out - there are so many people in need.   more ›

St. Francis 7th Graders Run the Volleyball Table

Volleyball a big success at St. Francis De Sales as the team wins 14 matches in a row.

Volleyball teams are always looking for setters. That didn't prove true this year for the St. Francis De Sales seventh-grade squad. This team had so many setters they could have formed a few more teams. This team had a special season. Included was a 14-game winning streak and a conference championship. Now back to this team of setters. "Setters are usually rare at such a young age,'' said St. Francis coach Carly Young. "But this team had about four or five girls with great hand control so I ran the team a little unconventionally and opted not to have one or two designated setters but rather almost everyone be a setter." Whether this was unorthodox of not, this team was rarely threatened as no more than five matches went to three sets. So …

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Emmaus House of Hospitality Donates 173 Turkey Dinners to Those in Need

Goal of non-profit is to feed the hungry and provide housing assitance for people experiencing difficult times.

There were smiles on the lips of some and tears in the eyes of others.  Valker Hall, located in the basement of St. Francis de Sales Church, buzzed with anticipation as 15 volunteers busily worked together to hand out boxes filled with all the fixings for a fine Thanksgiving meal.  But each box was much more than just a meal; each one touched not only the person who carried it away, but also the loved ones they planned to share their Thanksgiving holiday with.  It was a rare opportunity for those who received the gifts to enjoy the coming holiday free of worry over how food would be put on the table.     On the evening of Sunday, Nov. 21, Emmaus House of Hospitality, a non-profit whose focus is in part to feed the hungry, gave away 173 …

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Editor's Notebook

Helping Out at the Food Pantry

Patch Give 5 program lets me give a little back to the community.

Today, I spent the afternoon volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry as part of Patch's Give 5 program. The program lets me volunteer my time in the community in addition to devoting coverage to local charities. All the local editors of the more than 200 and growing active Patch sites across the country participate in the program. I spent a portion of the afternoon helping the seven or so regular volunteers stock the shelves of the pantry with the food items donated during the week. We sorted the food,  organized it on the shelves, broke down some boxes,  double bagged plastic bags for the people who use the food pantry and chatted. I'll return tonight along with about 30 other volunteers to dole out the food we stocked this …

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Library Volunteer Marks 30-Year Milestone

Ela Area Public Library volunteer helped campaign to build Lake Zurich's first freestanding library.

In November, Helen Beckwith will be 91-years-old. For the past 30 of those years, she has volunteered at the Ela Area Public Library, 275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich. "When I first started, they only had a card catalog and, boy that was a big deal," Beckwith said. "Now they have computers and everything.  I just love being around all the information. There's so much to learn and know, I have just barely scratched the service." Beckwith said when she first came to Lake Zurich in 1976, the library was located in the basement of the St. Francis de Sales Catholic church. "That was the library," she said. "I just couldn't believe it. A wonderful area like this, and they didn't have a real library.  It was such a dreary, damp and dark basement. In…

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